Writing is natural. Skilled writing takes work.
People talk quite naturally. In a similar way, writing comes natural to many, if not all people who are literate. Consider the huge numbers of people who keep journals, write emails or send notes on instant message software. Even the players of Internet shooter games fire written instructions, comments and insults to each other through direct communications links. Writing itself is natural. Writing well, however, requires practiced skills.
Writing well is enjoyable. In truth, a lot of authors express amazement at making their livelihood by doing something so satisfying and interesting. Writing brings you in contact with people, places, things, actions and ideas you may otherwise miss. Careful writing strengthens and stretches you. This broadness and depth of experience occurs for any type of writing: from poetry through term papers and short stories, to novels, video scripts and technical instructions.
The fun is in the words.
Spinning words into sentences and beyond can be fun for all writers. Words are playthings. Making something understandable, telling a story, inspiring an emotion, pushing for change, causing a laugh makes this art and craft a pleasurable challenge. Writing the first draft is usually easiest part. It is similar to talking, except less dangerous. You can always delete the words issued from the keyboard or pencil. There is no such grace available for the words of your mouth.
Grammar is necessary, but should not be a tyrant.
Many would-be writers stumble over grammar, without good reason. There is no need to perspire over subjects, objects and predicates. Really. You already know grammar, intuitively. It is the way you've innately use words since your first heard and spoke. It's what sounds correct when you listen and talk. The rules are important because they support all verbal and written communications. So use what you know. If you speak Boston English, write Boston English. If speak Texan, write Texan. If you speak Cajun, write it. The same goes for Ebonics, Spanglish or any other dialect. Use the familiar, in the beginning.
To expand your audience, and possibly pass your composition classes, you must use the commonly and widely accepted grammar of your native or adopted language. This the language of your larger society. In the USA, for example, if you speak Boston English, write American English. If you speak Texan, pen it in American English. For a greater audience, use American English, even if you speak Cajun, Ebonics, Spanglish or any other U.S. dialect.
Learn the rules of common grammar by listening and imitating. Study the parts of speech. Learn about structure. Get the feel for what sounds correct to everyday people. Read The Elements of Style. Stay current with grammar changes, which happen regularly in living languages. Latin grammar never changes because Latin is, ah, dead.
Follow the rules most of the time. Break them now and then for the sake of powerful writing. Star Trek broke the rules in the mid-1960's. To Boldy Go... split the infinitive. To Go Boldly... is more correct, but less powerful and certainly less memorable.
Words are important. Use them correctly, whatever the cost.
Many writers and editors soften reality by using politically correct terms. In recent history, Reuters News stopping using the word terrorist when describing the Islamic radicals who cut the throats of female flight attendants before plunging fuel-filled aircraft into the World Trade Center and Pentagon, September 11, 2001. More than 3,000 people, including several hundred children, died in these attacks aimed mostly at non-combatant civilians. If that's not terrorism nothing is.
Yet, Reuters justified eliminating terrorist from their vocabulary this way: "..one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter..." In doing so, they diluted truth and twisted the language. Does extending their philosophy also eliminate the words robber, murderer, racist and rapist. Think about it.
Obviously part of Reuters' motivation involved showing fairness to all of Islam and to the landless Palestinians in the Middle East. They may have also been motivated to protect their world wide financial interests. Showing fairness is honorable. A better way to handle this, though, would describe the attackers as "Radical Islamic terrorists who have little in common with the majority of Muslims." This is a fact, not an opinion. Reuters could then liken them to the old KKK in the United States. It's a simple and accurate relationship: the radical terrorist are to Islam as the old KKK is to American Christianity. Neither group understands their root faith. Neither wants freedom, at least for others.
Careful and honest word choice requires thoughtful responsibility. While Reuters policy on the word terrorist takes a major leap away from honest reality, it does addresses the need to choose words thoughtfully and without malice. Words hold meanings, carry emotions and can be used for good, evil or nothing at all.
From the ancients comes this advice on word choice: A person of knowledge uses words with restraint and a person of understanding is even-tempered. Practice this in your writing and you can still inform, persuade and entertain, without causing much offense or diluting the truth.
In summary:
Revising is a Torture Rack. Editing is a Pain.
Your first draft always falls short. Some professional writers claim they can turn in their first drafts and have them published. This may occur now and then on metropolitan daily newspaper. But even there a copy editor normally checks the text first.
First drafts require editing. First draft editing is best done by the critically analysis of the author.
Critical analysis parses each paragraph and sentence to examine the words one at a time. You decide if each word is precise and supportive to your communications goal. If you consistently lie with your words, you can likely get a job writing features articles for the New York Times.