Michael Agger:

Kellogg is always careful to emphasize the extreme cognitive demands of writing, which is very flattering. “Serious writing is at once a thinking task, a language task, and a memory task,” he declares. It requires the same kind of mental effort as a high-level chess match or an expert musical performance. We are all aspiring Mozarts indeed. So what’s holding us back? How does one write faster? Kellogg terms the highest level of writing as “knowledge-crafting.” In that state, the writer’s brain is juggling three things: the actual text, what you plan to say next, and—most crucially—theories of how your imagined readership will interpret what’s being written. A highly skilled writer can simultaneously be a writer, editor, and audience.

You hear that? “Extreme cognitive demands.”

I like Kellogg’s mention of the “imagined readership.” A writer’s intended audience inevitably manifests itself in his (or her) work. I believe the standard to which a writer holds this audience is clear. A stereotypical teenage blogger on Tumblr cares little for proper punctuation or consistent formatting. A more seasoned and professional writer cares very much for these things, though he may spend little time consciously considering them — proper grammar comes naturally.

I wish that all writers would “raise the bar,” so to speak. I doubt that this will happen. Writing seems to degrade as time progresses. I have considered before the possibility that good writing has not worsened in itself, but rather, since technology makes it possible for an unprecedented number of people to publish their thoughts, good writing has been lost, buried amongst a sea of mediocrity.

Fortunately, there still exists a demand for quality writing. Exclusive groups such as the Read & Trust network, for example, tout a higher standard.