Have you ever had trouble coming up with a way to say something simple? What causes that sort of problem?

Example:
Recently I tried writing my landlord a letter to tell him that there is no heat in my apartment. I wrote that letter a dozen times before it turned out okay.

History:
I am not use to communicating with a landlord and don't have any examples to follow. I've always struggled to construct sentences that can both communicate the right information AND have the right tone. I was isolated, neglected, and abused during childhood, and also somewhat isolated as a teen and as an adult - which may influence my communication skills. (I've become much better over the past 10 years, yet still lag behind. I am in my 30's.)

I'm not sure if this is related to trauma, lack of examples, and/or something else. What do you think? Have you ever had a similar problem or heard of one?