Having been sold on the dream of the paperless office many breathed a sigh of relief that they would no longer be required to write. What they hadn't bargained for was the need for written content in emails and web sites. Even if we ignore the internet there are still many times when a written communication is more appropriate than any other format. Being willing and able to write is, in my view, essential.

Pianists practice at the piano. Tennis players practice at the net. Athletes practice at the track. They all recognise that skills need to be developed and honed if they are to be maintained.

When we write we are simply translating our thoughts into a more tangible format. Those ideas that float in and out of our minds are captured and recorded. It really is as simple as that. The difficulty comes in discerning which thoughts to capture and which to ignore. If your mind is anything like mine, you will possibly not even be aware of many of ideas that flit around your head.

What is good writing? All answers to this would be subjective and therefore varied. It is probably easier to say what is bad writing. For me, any writing that can be read easily, that is unambiguous and that imparts something interesting or essential, is good.

I know a number of writers who are so keen to start the writing process they skip the planning and preparation stage which, almost without exception, makes their job much harder in the long run. Having said that, it is important to get on with the process of writing and not get so bogged down in the thinking, research and planning that the piece never quite makes it on to paper.

When starting to write be courageous and develop your own style. If every writer wrote in the same way, readers would quickly become bored. Some formal or business writing will dictate a style and perhaps a layout, but this does not prevent a writer from embellishing the work with their own personality.

For me it's important that whatever I read causes me to pause and think. I don't want to be bored. I don't want to find myself speed reading and scanning pages. I want to enter the mind of the writer and learn something new or be offered the opportunity to look at things in a different way. That is the essence of good writing.

It saddens me when I come across web content in particular which is there for the sake of being there. It provides nothing. No interest, no entertainment and certainly no value. It leaves me feeling cheated and breaks trust with the author.

We've touched on planning, researching and writing but that is not the end of the matter. A finished piece that a reader will value needs further attention from the much talked about blue pencil. Work that has been edited is always easy to spot simply because the quality is so much higher.

Editing is a different animal from proof reading. The latter is an exercise to spot errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, syntax and the plain old typo. Editing is the process by which a raggle-taggle collection of words is pummelled and pounded until it becomes clear prose that is a joy to read.

I am an avid reader and passionate writer so I have to declare myself as biased. I want to encourage others to write - either for themselves or others. I want you to experience the joy of creating a piece of written work that adds value to others. It's a way of connecting and sharing. If this piece has demystified the process of writing and given you some inspiration, I shall be happy.

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Jessica R Hartley provides a free online writing course and writers forum to encourage everyone who yearns to write. A professional writer she is enthusiastic about encouraging writing skills in others.