Writing Fearlessly

Writing Fearlessly
by Suraya Dewing

For years I felt I did not qualify to call myself a writer. I willingly announced that I was an Information Manager, a Television Director, a PR advisor, and Communications Manager but never a writer. I did not write well enough to justify the moniker. Yet I wrote for a living and was paid.
So why not call myself a writer?
Because the word suggested that writers were slightly out of touch with reality. They were not logical.
Too often limiting self belief denies us the thing we want. This was so for me.
I could never see how being a writer might sustain me or my family.
But how things have changed in the last decade...for the better.
Those of us in the world of technological innovation can see that what sets us apart is the very quality I felt embarrassed by. Our ability to think and act creatively sets us apart from robots and algorithms. The future lies with those who are creative thinkers and creative writers. Being able to write well, once regarded as a soft skill has moved centre stage with all the other essential STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) skills.
Being able to write well and confidently is now a pre-requisite for successful 21st century living. Set against this is a realisation that the marginalisation of writing has led to too many students leaving school unable to write coherently. This is now a problem that many countries are struggling to resolve. 
My crippling self doubt based on a belief that writing was not 'cool' led me to research what constitutes good writing so that I could understand how to write in a way that led to success. The results prompted me to create Stylefit using Natural Language Processing and other technologies.
I want people to write fearlessly and I am proud that I have been able to create, with the help of highly skilled scientists, a piece of technology that enables people to improve their writing skills fearlessly. These days I know I can write well. My research confirmed this.