Writing is Life
When it comes down to writing, I usually feel like death has come for me. It is a painstaking, brain-exhausting experience. I postpone it to the last moment, savoring and sorting out all the ideas that have formed in my mind. Writing is a hard and never-ending experience. It starts with an idea, an inspiration, which is very hard to come by. It may appear to me in a dream, or in a shower room, or in a grocery store. But when that idea does come to me, I try to write it down immediately before it evaporates into thin air. My writing has a beginning, but never an ending. It always evolves. Every time I look at my essay, I find better ways to improve it.
Like Junot Diaz, I undergo a series of criticisms from my own self, and, unfortunately, most of the time, I am not satisfied with my writing. I read a book or an article, for instance, which excites me or, better yet, inspires me, and I read my own piece of writing and come to the conclusion that, probably, I have made a right decision to switch my career to forensic science. After reading the article by Junot Diaz, the Pulitzer Prize winner, in which he describes the agonies of becoming a writer, I feel somewhat relieved and encouraged. He shows that if you have something to say, and it is worth saying, you try and try and try, until you succeed.
There is no writing without reading. I believe what we read reflects in out writing. Writing to me is an expression of one’s nature. Through reading someone’s work, we can tell what sort of person he or she is. Reading various novels by the same author reveals the character of the person behind it. I feel like I know the writer without knowing her biography by just reading her novels.
As a writer, my intentions are not to shock you, or impress you, or keep you at the edge of your seats, but to reach out to you in a more spiritual way. If a reader can learn about me from my writing, if he can get closer to understanding me, if he can feel what I feel,
then I am happy.
Like Junot Diaz, I undergo a series of criticisms from my own self, and, unfortunately, most of the time, I am not satisfied with my writing. I read a book or an article, for instance, which excites me or, better yet, inspires me, and I read my own piece of writing and come to the conclusion that, probably, I have made a right decision to switch my career to forensic science. After reading the article by Junot Diaz, the Pulitzer Prize winner, in which he describes the agonies of becoming a writer, I feel somewhat relieved and encouraged. He shows that if you have something to say, and it is worth saying, you try and try and try, until you succeed.
There is no writing without reading. I believe what we read reflects in out writing. Writing to me is an expression of one’s nature. Through reading someone’s work, we can tell what sort of person he or she is. Reading various novels by the same author reveals the character of the person behind it. I feel like I know the writer without knowing her biography by just reading her novels.
As a writer, my intentions are not to shock you, or impress you, or keep you at the edge of your seats, but to reach out to you in a more spiritual way. If a reader can learn about me from my writing, if he can get closer to understanding me, if he can feel what I feel,
then I am happy.
Writing, in a way, is also a self-discovery. We do not just try to deliver a message to people, but we also learn and try to understand ourselves and the world around us in a process.
David Foster Wallace is an example. He was an amazing writer and a columnist for
The New Yorker and Harper’s magazine, who committed suicide three years after delivering a commencement speech at Kenyon College in 2005. He did not talk about how wonderful life would be for the graduates. He did not talk about expected by everybody inspirational clichés.
Instead he talked about insignificant, everyday moments in our life and about dealing with them “without wanting to shoot yourself in the head.” It strikes you that it was not just a message to the students, but it was also a way for him to deal with his own issues and reality. He was trying to remind himself as well as the public of “…simple awareness - awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in a plain sight all around us…” There is sadness, discontent, but there is also truth in his words. Essentially, writing means going deeper into your own “self”, analyzing and
understanding yourself. And once you do, you write. It is like a painter who has a picture in his mind which nobody can see. However, when he tries to recreate this vivid image on the canvass, we are getting closer to understanding his character. And the closer the picture is to the image in his head, the closer we feel what he feels. The same is with writing. We write what we feel. We could feel like we are the happiest people on the earth, or the most unfortunate of all, we could be humorous or sarcastic,
but we have to be true to our own feelings and try to deliver the feelings in our writing as closely as possible.
David Foster Wallace is an example. He was an amazing writer and a columnist for
The New Yorker and Harper’s magazine, who committed suicide three years after delivering a commencement speech at Kenyon College in 2005. He did not talk about how wonderful life would be for the graduates. He did not talk about expected by everybody inspirational clichés.
Instead he talked about insignificant, everyday moments in our life and about dealing with them “without wanting to shoot yourself in the head.” It strikes you that it was not just a message to the students, but it was also a way for him to deal with his own issues and reality. He was trying to remind himself as well as the public of “…simple awareness - awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in a plain sight all around us…” There is sadness, discontent, but there is also truth in his words. Essentially, writing means going deeper into your own “self”, analyzing and
understanding yourself. And once you do, you write. It is like a painter who has a picture in his mind which nobody can see. However, when he tries to recreate this vivid image on the canvass, we are getting closer to understanding his character. And the closer the picture is to the image in his head, the closer we feel what he feels. The same is with writing. We write what we feel. We could feel like we are the happiest people on the earth, or the most unfortunate of all, we could be humorous or sarcastic,
but we have to be true to our own feelings and try to deliver the feelings in our writing as closely as possible.
As David Foster Wallace was trying to remind us about the realities of life and how "to stay conscious and alive in the adult world day in and
day out," this video by Blue October is reminiscent of the hardships and pains as well as simple joys of everyday life. The music and the lyrics make you feel positive and hopeful. It makes you feel that life is worth living and worth writing about.
Be strong
Don't give up hope
It will get hard
Cause life's like a jump rope
day out," this video by Blue October is reminiscent of the hardships and pains as well as simple joys of everyday life. The music and the lyrics make you feel positive and hopeful. It makes you feel that life is worth living and worth writing about.
Be strong
Don't give up hope
It will get hard
Cause life's like a jump rope
Credits to
Blue October “Jump Rope”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqh-ucVG510
Picture 1
http://theindiechicks.com/career-2/tips-and-tricks/how-to-bring-everyday-life-into-your-writing/
Picture 2
http://msbertrandcoop.blogspot.com/2012/09/what-writing-is.html
Picture 3
http://myquoteshome.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/tumblr_m98n7a3Ice1rzpi3eo1_400.jpg
Life is Real Draft
Blue October “Jump Rope”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqh-ucVG510
Picture 1
http://theindiechicks.com/career-2/tips-and-tricks/how-to-bring-everyday-life-into-your-writing/
Picture 2
http://msbertrandcoop.blogspot.com/2012/09/what-writing-is.html
Picture 3
http://myquoteshome.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/tumblr_m98n7a3Ice1rzpi3eo1_400.jpg
Life is Real Draft