Why Not Write as You Think?
What have you written today? Have you been inspired?
There are two types of writers: those who talk about being writers and those who actually write. There is a bit of old-school, old-time romance in saying that you are a writer. And you can always say it and get ohs and ahs at parties without ever finishing a thing. But that accomplishes very little, doesn’t it? I would take the position that those who talk about writing are talkers, and those who actually write – every day, in my opinion – are writers. Writers write. But to do so, they need inspiration.
Maybe?
I’m not sure that I understand inspiration. I don’t know that I’ve felt that euphoria, in terms of what we normally associate with a writing muse. It’s almost too touchy-feely for me. The best writers, and certainly the most prolific, don’t sit around waiting for inspiration to come. I’m not sure what inspiration is, really, now that I think about it. But I do understand curiosity and I understand pondering the questions and answers as I work out my curiosity. To me, that is the summation of all writing. This makes much more sense. Like thinking about it and putting in the work.
Maybe?
Some say you need to put in the work. But what is the work? I tend to think that you need to put in the dialogue instead, the dialogue with yourself, the conflicting parts of you that are trying to make sense of whatever problem you have on your mind. These problems usually come in the form of ‘what if…’, which I think is the best writing prompt ever developed. So, there’s the trinity: curiosity, dialogue, and what if. But isn’t there more?
I think there is.
Instead of simply thinking about these things as most people do, I choose to write them down and then have the audacity to share them with others through publication. So, I think, as writers, let’s not wait for inspiration (again, not sure what that is), but rather let’s look to curiosity and exploration. But let’s not stop there. For goodness sakes, write down what you’re thinking. And then when we tell people at dinner parties that we’re writers, the ohs and ahs are well-deserved. And we can also tell them where to go to read what we have written.
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