On Writing

Even when it's a piece about writing, I seem to have to revise. This is my second and hopefully last revision.

‘On Writing’ sounds grand, doesn’t it? I don’t pretend to know much, but I’m happy to share what I do know – about my own style of writing.

It’s not that I think that I can offer anything to any budding writers out there that more established ones haven't already done but as I’m working it out for myself, I thought I might as well put it down in my electronic notebook and share it with whoever is interested; I have read some advice given by more established writers. When I’ve liked it, it has been because it wasn’t pretentious, but straight forward and sounded sensible.

But what works for those writers doesn’t necessarily always work for me. Perhaps that's why they are published more often than I am. But I think that if I end up getting it right, it's because I have been true to myself and found my own path.

I had to find my own voice, such as it was. And that had to do with a lot of writing. I call it brain aerobics. As with the physical type, you need to use it or expect to lose it.

While I can confirm that the more mental aerobics you do the easier it becomes, it’s still a slow process for me. I must admit that since having gone public I’ve gone from one idea developed over a period of several months to getting it together in two or three weeks.

I keep on wanting to revise my pieces. I don't think I'm alone there, I've heard of other people who do that. Even after I submit them I wish I could have them back and change some glaring error that I’ve picked up.

Like everybody else who wants to write, I also have a notebook on me wherever I am and will jot down an idea when it comes to me. Sometimes I’ll sit at a cafe and write descriptions of people that are around me. I’ll detail their features, their dress and what they are doing at the time and then I will make an imaginary character analysis. I will also take detailed notes of my surrounds and the atmosphere. Whether or not you use it later, I think it’s not only a good writing exercise, but also a chance to notice what you’re looking at through a writer's eyes. Somebody once told me that when on holidays, the way she had seen and noted things around her as a tourist was different to when she started writing. It wasn't a conscious effort, she'd just discovered a different way of looking at what was there.

There are two things that I think are universal to all people who write. Everybody says that writing is a lonely business. That’s true. Some people can collaborate on their work (I can’t) but mostly it’s a one on one experience, between you and your notebook or computer. You can ask your family how they like your piece but even when they’re being highly positive and effusive about it, you can’t help wondering if it’s bias talking. Some writers get together to workshop and that can be helplful when you're beginning, but in the end you have to decide for yourself if a piece is good, then once you’ve polished it out of all existence you have to let go of it and let an editor decide. Submit!

Everyone agrees that it’s one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration. You come up with a good idea and jot it all down in your note book. Later, when it comes to actually putting it together, you stare and stare, trying to get an angle that will start you off on your (my) painful journey. My angle seems to mutate as I go, but I need to have it first. If I start without one, I tend to ramble aimlessly. A waste of time and energy.

I admire newspaper journalists or magazine writers who have been given a commission to write. Now there's mental aerobics for you, especially in the case of the Newspaper journos. They are constantly and consistently putting articles together to a deadline. Others, myself for example, begin with the inspiration and write in a red hot heat for a bit then I pace myself through the perspiration part. I think that’s why I moved from having this blog as some sort of electronic journal to opening it up to public view. I’m finding it inspiring that people who read my pieces might expect more of me than one every few months.

Assuming I have anything more to say about writing, I will add more to these musings (rants) as they come to me.

On a non-writing note, two of my grandchildren, the ones I can’t stop writing about, are coming to stay with me for the next few weeks. I find I can’t focus as well while they are here taking up my energies. There’s a different type of mindset happening when they are here. So, things are likely to be a lot slower till they leave. If I don’t get back to visit till late January, then Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and my best wishes to you all.