This poem advises aspiring writers to abandon conventional notions of "how" one is supposed to write, and advises them to go out and experience the world. This is solid advice. I always find the most inspiration in the things I see and hear around me, and sitting in a quiet room doesn't lend itself to creative inspiration. Writing can happen anywhere at any time. I think that beginning writers often think of writing as a strictly structured, organized, disciplined task, and that couldn't be farther from the truth in reality.
To beginning writers, I'd say to abandon your inhibitions. If there is one thing I will take from this class, it's that writing is not a pretty process. It is messy and disorganized and sometimes it's best to throw everything onto the wall and see what sticks. This is OKAY! Pre-writing doesn't have to be structured! You can word-vomit your ideas onto the screen and then try to make sense of them from there. Writing is a process, and it's much easier if you don't try to do it all at once. Even more, if the piece you're writing doesn't HAVE to be strictly linear, there's no reason to force your mind to think that way. Don't be afraid to branch out!
Write about what interests you. Even if a piece was boring, you can write about what you didn't like, or write about what parts caught your attention, for better or for worse. Tailor whatever piece you're developing into something that best suits your interests, and it will make all the difference. Passion (or lack thereof) comes through in writing. Plus, if you find your subject interesting, writing is much less painful. Push through and force yourself to think carefully about your topic, and you can find something interesting to latch on to.
Thank you for this enlightening piece of advice. I thoroughly agree with what you have said here. IN fact, it is pretty much exactly what I wanted to say in my own piece of advice, however you worded it so perfectly and just much better than I could have. I really like how you said to just throw all your thoughts onto a wall and see what sticks. It's a flawless metaphor to fully explain the beginning of the messy writing process. I couldn't agree more with everything you wrote.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your thoughtful words. I definitely agree with all of the advice that you give... and like Sydney, I pretty much wrote the same thing as you, except your words just flow ten times better than mine. What do you think is the best advice to give to writers that want to improve their writing in this course? I am asking this because just from this post and from other pieces of yours we read in class, one can tell that you are definitely a writer, and very confident in what you have to say. I think that any advice that you give regarding writing is strong and definitely worth to hear.
ReplyDelete