What are the challenges you face as a writer?

When asked, this question always momentarily perplexes me. Where do I start? As the daughter of an editor, my grammar was corrected the day I began to speak. As a result, I soared through Shirley English in middle school, rarely had a grammatical error on my AP practice essays, and have always been considered an eloquent speaker. Or so my mother says.

However, becoming a journalist brings a new set of challenges to the table. Now, I must nitpick over every letter of every sentence I write. I must consider tenses, past participles, independent clauses, when to use the exception to the rule...when it's appropriate to break the rule entirely.

In news media- where do you draw the line? When should one write elegantly and when should one stick to the facts? Because one is more fun.

Also, I find it challenging to not write long sentences.

Sincerely,
Chelsea