Sunday Sayings and some writing advice too
It appears I have let this week slip by without a single blog, after telling myself that I'd post at least once per week (aside from Sundays). It's hard when I see my list of things to write about and yet feel only discomfort at the thought of taking the time to write out a whole post for whatever movie or book I want to discuss next. I think sometimes my brain doesn't want to have to think critically, especially not about things that I read or watched quite some time ago (and even more so if I did not particularly like the film, book, or whatever). But I know that to improve my writing skills, to keep the creative side of my brain active, I must continue to make myself sit down and write.
Growing up, I wrote because I could not longer keep all of the ideas in my head. I wrote because inspiration struck, then passion overcame me, and finally I critically began to shape my ideas and focus all of my imagination into the narrative. Somewhere along life's journey, my inspiration seems to have gotten lost. Occasionally I find it again, like that sock you think is gone forever until you move the washing machine just a couple inches over. Except, I seem to keep losing the same damn sock! (I'm still speaking metaphorically, by the way. I have not managed to lose an actual sock in a long time.)
More and more I come across collections of quotations, or pieces of advice from published authors, and inevitably they say that you must make yourself write. Inspiration can strike sometimes, but your stories are never just going to write themselves. Perhaps they are right. Perhaps my real problem all of these years has simply been that I have been to busy with school to keep making myself write. Imagine what writing potential I could unlock if I blogged or wrote every day! That goal doesn't seem all that unreasonable at the moment, but I know that in the coming school year I will almost certainly fall out of the habit no matter how hard I try to stick with it.
My point is: once a writer, always a writer. Just because I struggle more to write now does not mean that I am not still a writer. I always was, and I always will be. That's why I like this quote by Ursula K Le Guin:
Seriously, this woman is so underrated. Her work is insightful, and it does away with the archetypal heroic main characters that have possibly been beaten to death at this point. Her leads are utterly imperfect, but I think that she captures humanity really well, no matter the genre.
P.S. This post on writing has me thinking...maybe I should share my short story some time. Just like I was speaking about, I had to force myself to sit and write it out. I carried a notebook with me everywhere I went for a week, constantly brainstorming and rewriting it. I had several late nights spent hammering the keyboard to get it all typed out by my deadline, but I'm really proud of it. It just goes to show you what a little determination and a lot of concentration can produce.
Growing up, I wrote because I could not longer keep all of the ideas in my head. I wrote because inspiration struck, then passion overcame me, and finally I critically began to shape my ideas and focus all of my imagination into the narrative. Somewhere along life's journey, my inspiration seems to have gotten lost. Occasionally I find it again, like that sock you think is gone forever until you move the washing machine just a couple inches over. Except, I seem to keep losing the same damn sock! (I'm still speaking metaphorically, by the way. I have not managed to lose an actual sock in a long time.)
More and more I come across collections of quotations, or pieces of advice from published authors, and inevitably they say that you must make yourself write. Inspiration can strike sometimes, but your stories are never just going to write themselves. Perhaps they are right. Perhaps my real problem all of these years has simply been that I have been to busy with school to keep making myself write. Imagine what writing potential I could unlock if I blogged or wrote every day! That goal doesn't seem all that unreasonable at the moment, but I know that in the coming school year I will almost certainly fall out of the habit no matter how hard I try to stick with it.
My point is: once a writer, always a writer. Just because I struggle more to write now does not mean that I am not still a writer. I always was, and I always will be. That's why I like this quote by Ursula K Le Guin:
Seriously, this woman is so underrated. Her work is insightful, and it does away with the archetypal heroic main characters that have possibly been beaten to death at this point. Her leads are utterly imperfect, but I think that she captures humanity really well, no matter the genre.
P.S. This post on writing has me thinking...maybe I should share my short story some time. Just like I was speaking about, I had to force myself to sit and write it out. I carried a notebook with me everywhere I went for a week, constantly brainstorming and rewriting it. I had several late nights spent hammering the keyboard to get it all typed out by my deadline, but I'm really proud of it. It just goes to show you what a little determination and a lot of concentration can produce.
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