Watch your words – What does your writing reveal about you? by Elaine Langford

 

Are you aware that the words you write and the sentence structure you use can say something about you?

I’ve been learning about grammar recently through reading articles in the Writing Magazine and from BBC Bitesize. Things I never remember learning in school, such as the active vs the passive voice. [The passive voice puts the object is placed before the subject. For example: I kick the ball (active) / The ball was kicked by me (passive).]  Mind you, I left primary school unable to identify a noun from a verb, which was only resolved when learning French and German at secondary school.

I’ve also been learning about myself through the phrasing I use. When I write personal journals or reflective blogs, I notice I use ‘but’, ’yet’, ‘however’, ‘while’ and ‘therefore’ a lot. These words reflect the constant dilemma working in my head to consider different perspectives and what actions to take. The use of these conjunctions also means I often string a lot of clauses together rather than make short cohesive statements. When I learnt about subordinate clauses, I noticed how often I put them first in a sentence.

I shouldn’t be surprised as all of this confirms the opposing voices of ADHD and Autism that runs through my head. Whenever, I’m asked for an opinion or a decision, all the information generated by my popcorn ADHD brain falls over itself to come out. My Autistic brain throws in its perspective and tries help to put it all in order, but often it gets overwhelmed and just goes for a nap.

 It’s only when I take time to edit that I often spot these aberrations, especially when adhering to a word count. Now I understand more about sentence structure, I find it easier to avoid some of these ‘overwrites’. Of course, the way I write is part of my identity and ‘voice’. So, I’m probably less inclined to alter everything for informal writing, like blogs. For submitted factual work, like a press release, article, or work procedure, my voice is not as important. Instead, it’s better to focus on getting the point across in the way that is right for the audience and adhere to any style guide or formatting for the host medium.

On reflection, I see that my ADHD writing brain is more creative and better tuned for informal pieces; where my Autistic brain is happier with more formal, focussed writing. This may explain why I’ve struggled to write poetry recently. My Autistic brain wants to formulate everything, plan and organise, where my ADHD wants to run free with a topic and not adhere to structure and editing. Though some structure is beneficial for ADHD brains.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 reminds me that there is a time for everything – to plant and uproot, to tear down and to build. Perhaps a writer’s version is there’s a time to write and a time to edit, a time to plan and a time to let the muse flow. For me, there’s also a time for formal writing and a time for poetry and short stories.

Now I recognise this, it should be easier to find a balance and find a way to satisfy or use the different parts of my brain, either via different writing projects, or taking different roles in projects. While I spend time editing and reflecting, I need to remember the Churchillian phrase that perfectionism can be the enemy of progress. Giving all of me a voice means I can keep a check on the focus and be creative, make changes but also to keep learning about writing skills and myself.

What have you discovered about yourself through your writing?

What’s the most useful lesson about grammar or sentence structure that you have learnt?

When do you edit and when do you leave your personality on show?

Elaine Langford is an irratic writer but pleased to have added a post to her Faith Bites recently[https://faithbites.wordpress.com/2025/07/31/working-with-sacred-space-as-a-reset/].  She is now ready to climb back onto the poetry horse to post in her poetry blog Poetry Puddles next.