Write, Right?

I wrote my first book when I was 7 years old. I even illustrated it. It was a story about Gus, the lost arrow, that was eventually found. Although an outlandish idea, my love for writing and communicating with words has been a life-long passion.

Writing about writing may be a futile effort–one should just write, right? Perhaps, however, some insights may be helpful to others.

1. Writing is done in different ways for various purposes and aimed at diverse audiences. I enjoyed my academic writing and felt challenged to make writing factual and at the same time, understandable. The first time I was told my academic writing was accessible, I did not think it was a compliment. I thought it meant that I did not sound intellectual enough. Now I believe communicating clearly is paramount. I am comfortable with professional approaches that are also personal in nature. Writing a blog for general audiences is a new challenge to explore.
2. Anais Nin said, “We write to taste life twice: in the moment and in retrospect.” As I get older and reflect on life, I am aware of events that have given it meaning. Writing allows me to ponder the people, animals, places, and ideas that have nurtured my soul.
3. Keeping a journal every day gets ideas down without attached judgment. Journaling has been a part of life since I first read The Diary of Anne Frank as an elementary student. Writing personal thoughts is therapeutic and gives an outlet for ideas. I have not gone back to read 95% of my journals but I know where to go if I want to taste life twice. 
4. Recent political events have punctuated the idea that words have consequences. Writers use words and each word has meaning. I learned from my colleague, Dan Dustin, in graduate school almost 45 years ago. I did not understand how he could ponder over the right word choice for hours. Now I understand how important the precise word is in expressing ideas.
5. Another guideline I learned years ago in my creative non-fiction writing group was “show them, don’t just tell them.” I drove my students crazy in editing their work because I did not allow hyperbolic words in their papers such as “very.” In the writing, show me why I should interpret something as “very.”
6. In launching this blog and stepping out of academic writing, I have lacked confidence. I take heart in what Margaret Atwood said, “If I waited for perfection… I would never write a word.” My work isn’t perfect, but I do my best.
7. Being an avid and reflective reader influences how I write. I love reading and noting how other authors have used words to make stories that resonate with me. I pay attention and learn from the way words are used and how sentences are composed. I focus on crafting my voice in similar ways.
8. Writing means re-writing. It requires discipline. I used to tell my students that they should never consider a manuscript/paper done until it had been re-written at least a half dozen times. My friend, Sherryl Kleiman, talked about “spew” drafts as the first round–just get the ideas out there. Then edit over and over. The final product may look different from the spew and should organize those idea kernels. Economy and the right words are the focus of re-writing.
9. The challenge with writing is making the familiar interesting and the unusual familiar for readers. I greatly admire Mae Sarton. She wrote about everyday things in her life and made them exceptional. Her accounts of her home and her life with her plants and cats resonated with me. I hope that the ideas I find interesting will also provide reflection for some readers.
10. Finally, I am learning that writing regularly is the best way to grow and get better at writing. Writing about ideas, no matter how weird, allows me to explore, relive, and reflect on this beautiful and crazy world. Writing sustains my wandering and wondering mind.