When spelling, grammar, sentence order, handwriting or word choice become the hardest part of the process, many writers reach the same conclusion: I’m just not good at this.But that conclusion is built on a false premise.
One of the quietest ways writers are pushed out of writing isn’t through rejection letters, algorithms, or bad reviews. It’s through language itself.
Not ideas.
Not imagination.
Not the ability to tell a story.
Language.
When spelling, grammar, sentence order, handwriting or word choice become the hardest part of the process, many writers reach the same conclusion: I’m just not good at this.But that conclusion is built on a false premise.
Writing is not one skill. It’s a layered process — thinking, remembering, structuring, translating ideas into language, encoding that language into written form, and then judging it against a rule set that changes depending on context, genre and audience.
When any part of that chain is overloaded, writing becomes heavier — not lesser.
Let’s take a moment to discuss the language-based differences that disadvantage writers, not because of a lack of intelligence or creativity, but because of how written language is processed, produced or policed.
Dyslexia: When the Story Is Clear but the Words Won’t Behave
Dyslexia is still widely described as a reading or spelling difficulty. In practice, it’s a language-processing difference — one that often sits alongside strong conceptual thinking, visual reasoning and storytelling ability. That hasn’t stopped some of the most influential writers in history.
Many dyslexic writers can see the story long before they can spell it.
Agatha Christie — one of the best-selling authors of all time — was dyslexic and struggled with spelling throughout her career. John Irving has spoken openly about dyslexia shaping his drafting process. Their success didn’t come from “fixing” dyslexia. It came from working around language bottlenecks.
What dyslexia can look like in writers
- inconsistent spelling
- slow, tiring proofreading
- difficulty sequencing letters or words
- drafts that look messier than the idea behind them
None of these measure intelligence or creativity.
Top tips for dyslexic writers
- Draft with spellcheck turned off — let ideas move freely.
- Separate drafting from editing completely (different day, different mindset).
- Use text-to-speech to proofread — hearing errors is often easier than seeing them.
- Treat spelling and grammar as production tasks, not creative ones.
If the story is clear in your head, you’re already doing the hardest work.
Dysgraphia: When Getting Words Down Is the Hardest Part
Dysgraphia affects the physical and organisational act of writing, not the quality of ideas. For writers, this can mean painfully slow drafting, frustration translating clear thoughts into written form, or pages that don’t reflect the sophistication of the thinking behind them.
Because dysgraphia doesn’t affect spoken language or intelligence, it’s often misunderstood — especially in adults. Writers are labelled careless, lazy, or “bad at editing” when the real issue is that the encoding process itself is labour-intensive.
Many journalists, academics and non-fiction writers with dysgraphia quietly rely on dictation, restructuring and heavy post-production for this reason — even if the word dysgraphia is never used.
What dysgraphia can look like in writers
- extreme fatigue from writing
- difficulty organising sentences on the page
- strong verbal explanations that don’t translate to text
- avoidance of writing despite having plenty to say
Top tips for writers with dysgraphia
- Dictate first, edit later — spoken language still counts.
- Use fragments, bullet points and placeholders while drafting.
- Build structure after ideas exist, not while generating them.
- Stop judging your first draft by how it looks.
Writing is not handwriting. The page is not a moral test.
LOTE, ESL and Multilingual Writers: Thinking in One Language, Writing in Another
Australia is multilingual, but English-language writing spaces often treat native fluency as the baseline — and anything else as a flaw. That assumption has erased countless voices.
Joseph Conrad wrote literary classics in his third language. Vladimir Nabokov moved between languages throughout his career. Many contemporary Australian writers think creatively in one language and publish in another — carrying an extra cognitive load that native speakers never have to consider.
Multilingual writers are not behind. They are doing more work at once.
What this barrier can look like
- thinking in one language and writing in another
- slower drafting due to grammar and syntax decisions
- feedback focused on surface errors rather than substance
- self-doubt about voice or legitimacy
Top tips for multilingual writers
- Draft in the language your ideas arrive in, then translate.
- Ask for feedback on meaning and structure before grammar.
- Protect rhythm and voice — polish can come later.
- Remember: clarity is not the same as conformity.
Your language history is not something to neutralise. It’s a creative asset.
Why Spelling, Grammar and Fluency Are Poor Measures of Talent
Across dyslexia, dysgraphia and multilingual writing, the same myth keeps repeating: If writing were meant for you, it wouldn’t feel this hard. That myth is wrong.
Spelling measures familiarity with a code. Grammar measures conformity to a rule set.
Fluency measures ease of translation — not depth of thought. None of these reliably measure imagination, insight, emotional intelligence or storytelling power.
What they do measure is how comfortably a brain fits inside systems that were never designed for diversity.
Language Load: The Invisible Drain
A useful concept here is language load — the total mental effort required just to get words onto a page. Language load includes decoding and spelling, remembering grammatical rules, translating ideas into “acceptable” forms and constant self-monitoring for mistakes.
When language load is high, writers fatigue faster. Drafting becomes exhausting. Editing feels overwhelming. Confidence drops — not because the writer lacks discipline, but because too much energy is being spent on mechanics instead of meaning.
This is why so many capable writers disappear quietly. Not because they have nothing to say — but because the cost of saying it feels too high.
The Reframe That Changes Everything
Here is the shift that matters: Writing ability is not the same as writing access. Many writers aren’t struggling with ideas. They’re struggling with interfaces — the way writing demands thinking, language and mechanics all at once.
Once that distinction is made, the question changes from: What’s wrong with me?to: How do I separate thinking from encoding?
That question is the bridge forward.
Australian References & Further Reading
- Australian Dyslexia Association – Adult dyslexia information and advocacy
- Australian Human Rights Commission – Disability discrimination and participation rights
- Department of Social Services – Disability and inclusion frameworks
- Queensland Government – Inclusive Education and Disability Strategy (principles relevant to lifelong learning and community education)