Why do I write? Why do I write, as opposed to doing something else? Why do I write what I write? Why do I write the way I write? Why do I write about what I write (about)? There are answers to all of these questions. But they’re different for everyone who will answer them. The answer isn’t going to just be two or three words either, it’s a story in of itself. Why questions always get you to those long answers. But thats OK because it’s those long answers that really get down to the root of a question. Long answers leave questions resolved, instead of creating more. Everybody that writes does so for a reason. Nobody just accidentally ended up with words on a page. I always try to look for the reason someone wrote a piece when reading it. Sometimes I find that the reason it was written is much more important than what is actually written. Sometimes I take greater value in the writing itself. And then here I am writing about writing, and for what reason? Because I don’t want to forget my thoughts? Because I think somebody else might want to read them? Because I think the world ought to know? They’re all possible. The real point is that sometimes instead of focusing on what somebody writes, you should look at why. By doing that you’ll not only understand what it is they have written in a new light, but probably also understand them as well.

The Writing Life talks about it quite a bit, and I believe it’s common as it’s become it’s own phrase: Writer’s block. This does seem to be quite a theme among all writers, from the most pointless blogger to the most sophisticated writer. At times we all hit a wall where we have no idea what to write about. We could write about our day, but who wants to hear about that? We could write about social issues, but there’s enough people doing that already. We could write to complain about the little irksome things in life, or we could write to a friend or aunt or uncle. We could write a story of kings and knights, or a story of space and adventure. We could write anything that anybody could think of but still, we can’t write. It doesn’t matter what we would write, it would be bad. The output on our brain is broken and instead of plopping words onto a paper it’s clogged up and nothing can make it’s way out. We might already have a story. It was going great places, let me tell you. It was full of suspense, action, romance. It was the greatest thing ever put into words…that is until writer’s block. Then there is nothing. We read back over what has been written and realize that it’s not so great. There are flaws. Maybe be we should rewrite that part. Maybe we should take this part out. There’s definitely no way the story would work out the way it is now. But how can we change it? Such is writer’s block. I’m not sure if anyone can explain why it happens, but almost everyone can relate.

If there is one thing I agree with the most in Writing Life, if there is one phrase, it is this one:

The written word is weak. Many people prefer life to it.

This spoke to me as if I was reading my own thoughts. Writing is, without any doubt, about life in some manner. There is no way to avoid writing about life or something related or effected by life. At the bare minimum writers must write about observing something without life. The point is, that these words used are weak. They don’t have the same power that feeling things with five senses does. You can feel the chill to your bone and the rain lash against you while hearing it splatter down around you and smell the wet pavement while you try to see down the dark street with little streams flowing along the curbs. I can write all that, but you still don’t feel it. I dont possess the skill required to make you truly feel what I write. I’ve seen it done before, and boy, is it powerful. Writers like those are the ones that you can’t help but love. I’m ashamed to admit that I think I fall into those who prefer life. Even if writing can take me to amazing places, it’s nothing compared to actually being there. I find myself doing other things besides reading in my spare time because even if I can immerse myself in a new world, why would I want to when I have the real one right in front of me? It comes back to my post about conveying emotions. It’s just really damn hard to do it in writing. It’s unbearably difficult to do it through any medium. Writing just can’t compare to the FEELING and EMOTION of real life.

Let’s try to define it, shall we? OK first contender is Wikipedia.

Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging symbolic elements in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect.

Pretty good, I’d say. However, is deliberately required? Let’s try again. Dictionary.com this time.

the quality, production, expression, or realm, according toaesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.

I’m liking this one quite a bit more. Especially the “of more than ordinary significance” part. That’s definition one of sixteen. The real question becomes, how do you define art? Who chooses what is art? To me I think it is a very personal thing. Referring back to my post about what the reader takes from a story, I think that art should be a self-defined subject. What is art to some person might hold no meaning with another. It’s the same with writing. Writing is a highly personal ordeal. What it means to the author, what it means to the reader, what it means to the editor or publisher or book-store owner are all very different things. I don’t think there should be stereotypes or standards for writing, just as there are few for art. To try and generalize something so expansive is just illogical.

In the Writing Life a couple of things have stood out to me as being the complete opposite of my experience, but I’ll highlight one for this post. She says that writing takes years. That it is a very thought out and deliberate process in which the author reads and re-reads their own words in order to make sure that they are say specifically what they want to say in the exact right words. Then the editor would go over these words and then the writer would go over them again and then changes would be made and so on and so forth. This is not how I write. I’ll admit I’ve never written a novel, so I have no authority on the subject, but I can almost assure you that if I was to write one that I would do just as I have mentioned in previous posts. I would write a couple hundred words, working towards a goal that I have set forth for them. I would then do something else for fifteen minutes. I seem to have the ability to churn out thousands of words a day by doing this, and in my past experiences people have enjoyed reading them. Of course there were small complaints, but it was very rare that I did not anticipate them as a result of a deliberate decision. I don’t like my writing to be edited because then it is not me anymore. It’s me plus editor. If I had my way I would take no time to write at all. I’d be able to move my fingers fast enough and with enough precision to type out every idea in my head in full in the five minutes that I manage to hold on to it. Taking my time to write is something I do, but only because of my physical limitations. Not because of a conscious mental decision.

I posted recently about how quickly my ideas disappear. How I wish I could write them down. This applies, even when I am writing. I always feel the need to write whatever it is in my head as fast as I can. This often results in me misspelling “whatever” five times like I did in the previous sentence, but it also results in little microcosms in my writing. Any time that I need to write an extended piece I will write a few hundred words, maybe a paragraph, and then take a break. I’ll do something else, I’ll forget about it, then suddenly another idea will pop into my head and I’ll write another hundred or so. Reading back over some of my own essays and papers I can see this so clearly it’s sometimes painful. There can be little flow when the ideas suddenly change in the middle of it. This also results in me spending very little time actually working on anything, and much more time dicking around doing nothing while I tell myself that I should keep working. The problem is, if I actually try to force myself to sit down and work on it without stopping I just lose track of it completely. I can’t keep all of my ideas and tangent ideas in one place so they just spring off and it ends up making no sense. I also become much worse at something when I force myself to do it for long periods of time. For me, the best try is normally the first try. Every time after that is bumbling and clumsy and I’ll be lucky if it sounds even half as good as what I’ve done before. For this reason I like to keep what I write about short. I like to do it to the point and in a very purposeful manner. If I was to write any other way I doubt even I’d want to read anything that came out of these hands.

I’ve come to realize that while plot is important to a story, I find the setting and scenery to be almost (or at times even more) important. It’s a strange idea, that where a story takes place should change what it means, but still, it does. The setting creates the mood, and the mood sets the pace for the story. I love to be able to see where a story takes place. In my mind’s eye I love to visualize the surrounding and take it all in. Stories that create this for me a good. Even better though, are stories that do it with simple, yet descriptive words. Stories that give me just enough to get the idea and then allow my imagination to run wild. These stories really let me feel. You can tell me about every golden grain of sand on a beach and describe the hair, eye, and skin color of everyone swimming, but if you tell me about the warmth of the sunset and the chatter coming from the splotting waves I will enjoy it much more. It’s a bit of a thin line, but I think there is a point where you break into being too descriptive. This doesnt let me feel, it tells me how to feel, and unfortunately my feelings don’t like being told what to do. Description of the setting, to me, is one of the most important aspects of a story. It’s a powerful tool that can both drive the reader to the place the author wants or toss him away.

I don’t know if you’re like me, but if you are you have all sorts of great ideas. You have ideas for innovation and problem solving, and sometimes just interesting and creative. The only problem is that you have these ideas and then later, when you want to remember it, it’s gone. You know you had something there. Where were you when you thought of it? Who was talking to you? Do you remember the topic of the conversation? It could be related. No, maybe it wasn’t. What was that even about? Damn, I should have written it down. This is my problem. My ideas are fleeting. They like to dance around in my mind until I walk about twenty steps and then dance right out the other side. I come up with ideas for great stories, great blog posts, great ways to write. Would you like to hear them? Well this one…oh wait um…I was thinking…shit I can’t remember. This is why I tell myself to write everything I can think of down on a piece of paper. I want to write about this or that but when I want to it’s just not possible. I’ll be driving and suddenly the guy in the car next to me at the stop light sparks creativity with his crazy hairdo. Too bad I can’t write then. I think my solution should be to hire someone who will write everything I dictate. In the meantime, I’ll have to blog about whatever pops into my head while I’m sitting here.

One of the major trends I have noticed in the stories we read is that people tend to write characters that are very similar to themselves. I dont think this is necessarily on purpose, but I do think that it is possible unavoidable for certain writers. Famous writers do it, thoughtful writers do it, and so do poor writers. There’s nothing wrong with it, and it’s completely rational. Referring back to my post about people writing what they know, I think this is where it is applied the most. People can research about whatever they want, and get a great deal of information about it. Doing this is an effective way to write with accuracy, thus creating credibility. However, to write a character requires you to know that character. Most people only know themselves. They know how they think and therefore they write characters that are very similar to themselves. To write a character which is different takes skill, and it takes knowledge. It requires the cunning to be able to see into another’s mind in order to make the character you create realistic. The best characters are ones that are unique, but understandable.