Wednesday, December 12, 2007
December 11, 11:30pm
Just how hard is it to start writing again? I asked this a few minutes ago while in the shower, which by the way I took after forcing myself to wake up from a brief nap. You see, for the past few weeks, I haven't had more than five hours of sleep max, sometimes even on weekends. I've been forcing myself to look busy while actually getting things done to avoid going out and risk bumping into two people I wouldn't want to be around for fear I might snap. That's as far I would go on that subject for now.
Now back to writing. I write for a living kuno, but I'm not a born writer nor do I wish to have a career as one. I am what you call an accidental writer -- a technical writer at the moment, an editor in my previous life, and before that a reporter for a local newspaper. All of them I got into accidentally.
I don't usually write down my thoughts and I have not religiously maintained a journal, although like most people I know, have started many at several points in the past. Thus, the question I asked at the beginning of this piece. How hard is it to write?
A few months ago, I was asked by my officemates to conduct a writing workshop, believing I am the best person to teach them the art. I know my grammar, sure, and on every stop in my young professional life, many would come to ask me the correct usage of certain words, phrases, etc. But God knows I am not the best writer out there. Even I struggle to fill pages from time to time.
In my opinion, there's no right way to write. You can never say one is bad writing, the other not. Have you ever seen the work of ee cummings? His poems contain some of the most absurd construction of the English language, which really makes his work hard to decipher, but he is known as one of the best poets in recent memory.
Writing then is any attempt to put words on paper. Some do a good job at it, while others suck. The trick is getting the attention of the reader and holding it for as long as you can. Which brings me to this little piece: Did I succeed in getting you this far? If you’re reading this now, then I know I have.
Gotcha!
