Gay Ingram's Blog - Posts Tagged "books"
Getting Down To Writing
Here in East Texas, we've been enjoying a final spell of Indian Summer weather before winter really sets in. Makes a person want to spend all their time out of doors, soaking up sunshine and watching leaves drift to the ground. Of course, all those falling leaves portend hours of raking sometime in the not too distant future.
But lounging in an Adirondack chair, steaming cup of coffee in hand, does not get the writing assignments completed. So, reluctantly I drag myself to my little office building and shuffle through writing possibilities, trying to stir up those writing juices.
I am not a spontaneous writer...one of those people who can't wait to face a blank page; someone whose brain is brimming over with ideas and story-lines that tumble in their head, each one scrambling to be first on the page.
I work best with a designated objective in mind. Sometimes it's a contest whose guidelines seem to jive with my style of writing. At other times, I find myself with a contract to produce a series of specific pieces of writing and I struggle as I reshape my words to conform to their requirements. Or I may need to present a concept of the craft in a manner acceptable to my favorite editor.
In fact, I have a shelf-full of motivational books for writers. You know, books like What If? or 30 Exercises For Lazy Writers. Oh, I always have good intentions but I just can't seem to stay enthused spending my writing time putting down words as if I were spilling my thoughts.
Every once in a while, I'll take one or another off the shelf, carry it to my writing desk and open a page. But I end up flipping page after page, looking for a topic that grabs me and inspires me to put something down on the paper.
Now that I think about it, my writing habits reflects who I am. I'm that person sitting in the group, not saying anything but vitally interested in hearing what others have to say. I'm a listener more than a talker. And how I choose to spend my writing time is a reflection of that. Only when I feel I have something that can't go unsaid will I apply myself and put it down on paper.
I may not be a prolific or financially successful writer, but I do feel what I have written has had something worthy to say.
But lounging in an Adirondack chair, steaming cup of coffee in hand, does not get the writing assignments completed. So, reluctantly I drag myself to my little office building and shuffle through writing possibilities, trying to stir up those writing juices.
I am not a spontaneous writer...one of those people who can't wait to face a blank page; someone whose brain is brimming over with ideas and story-lines that tumble in their head, each one scrambling to be first on the page.
I work best with a designated objective in mind. Sometimes it's a contest whose guidelines seem to jive with my style of writing. At other times, I find myself with a contract to produce a series of specific pieces of writing and I struggle as I reshape my words to conform to their requirements. Or I may need to present a concept of the craft in a manner acceptable to my favorite editor.
In fact, I have a shelf-full of motivational books for writers. You know, books like What If? or 30 Exercises For Lazy Writers. Oh, I always have good intentions but I just can't seem to stay enthused spending my writing time putting down words as if I were spilling my thoughts.
Every once in a while, I'll take one or another off the shelf, carry it to my writing desk and open a page. But I end up flipping page after page, looking for a topic that grabs me and inspires me to put something down on the paper.
Now that I think about it, my writing habits reflects who I am. I'm that person sitting in the group, not saying anything but vitally interested in hearing what others have to say. I'm a listener more than a talker. And how I choose to spend my writing time is a reflection of that. Only when I feel I have something that can't go unsaid will I apply myself and put it down on paper.
I may not be a prolific or financially successful writer, but I do feel what I have written has had something worthy to say.
Becoming a Writer Takes Involvement
Anyone can have a desire to write, and most people do at one time or another in their lives. But it takes more than the desire to become a writer. There must come some point in your life that you recognize your writing as an integral part of your life. Being a writer requires constancy, a concentrated effort to get grounded in the craft; always seeking knowledge and experiences that improve your writing.
A writer must commit themselves to “seeing things whole.” Instead of life being just a series of external events, a writer chooses to view his/her life “seeing,” not merely as spectators but as participants, accepting all eventualities as a part of their function as writers.
We look at life with “fresh eyes;” experiencing what’s in our environment with all our senses. Storing up incidents, people, happenings, chance occurrences as fuel for our future writing.
Anybody can have an idea. And, almost any idea can be the foundation for a good story. Anybody can sit down and write about that idea for a day. But the profession of writing requires constancy. Mastery in writing requires a daily commitment, a grounding in craft, experience, and knowledge of the field. Just like any other profession.
A writer must commit themselves to “seeing things whole.” Instead of life being just a series of external events, a writer chooses to view his/her life “seeing,” not merely as spectators but as participants, accepting all eventualities as a part of their function as writers.
We look at life with “fresh eyes;” experiencing what’s in our environment with all our senses. Storing up incidents, people, happenings, chance occurrences as fuel for our future writing.
Anybody can have an idea. And, almost any idea can be the foundation for a good story. Anybody can sit down and write about that idea for a day. But the profession of writing requires constancy. Mastery in writing requires a daily commitment, a grounding in craft, experience, and knowledge of the field. Just like any other profession.
