A talented and amazing
blogging friend of mine
recently asked me a question:
What would be the purpose or reason to write?
We had both received the same advice
from people in our lives:
"You have a story in you.
You should write a book!
Let me tell you,
writing a book is easy ~ NOT!
It requires a tremendous amount of
commitment, passion, and energy
to sustain you through
late nights or early mornings
when the rest of the world is sleeping.
I was always fascinated with how
third grade students could brainstorm ideas
with brightly colored markers,
pieces of paper,
and noisy enthusiasm.
Their simplest writing pieces
could be astounding for their
revelations, insights, and wisdom.
Watch the writing process of children,
and you will know what arduous and serious work it is.
Third grade boys, in particular,
will do just about anything to avoid writing.
Why?
Duh!!!!!
Writing is hard, hard work.
Third grade boys are brilliant in their avoidance.
No matter what
genre, form, and topic of writing
you choose to tackle,
it is not easy.
Even the shortest, funniest pieces
require much effort.
In fact, the shortest and funniest pieces
require the most effort.
Teachers push their students'
young minds, hearts, and souls
to write almost daily.
We constantly require them to do things
most sane adults would never attempt.
If you choose to tackle
the great American or Canadian novel,
Watch Out!
You may be in for a rough ride!
Probing the human heart and psyche
is the hardest and loneliest path one can walk.
It is also a painful and a dangerous walk.
Stunning revelations can surface
from your unconscious mind
to wreak havoc in your conscious mind.
J.R.R. Tolkien described his unconscious as a
compost-heap consisting mainly of linguistic matter.
He once said that his stories grew
"... like a seed in the dark out of the leaf-mould of the mind."
Hundreds of scholars have spent decades
probing that dark leaf-mould in an attempt
to understand how and why something
like JRRT's compost-heap
could produce his stunning canon.
I, myself, have been there probing Tolkien.
I have written many essays on his writing.
I once spent three long, coffee-fueled all~nighters
dealing three serious crises in my life
(over which I had no control and could do nothing about)
while writing a major research paper for a
course on J.R.R.Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and the Inklings.
On what topic you might ask?
A comparison of JRRT's Silmarillion with John Milton's Paradise Lost.
Geez Louise!
Just for once could you walk the easy path?
How could I do this?
Surely some man must be asking that question?
Answer:
I am a woman!
Hear me roar!
And many men think they're the strongest sex!
Irony is delicious! LOL!!!
Why would I do this?
Surely somebody is wondering about this too?
Answer: I am an INFJ.
Don't even ask what that means!
It's complicated!
But the short answer is
that it was fascinating and fun.
dont worry!!!!!
a lot of peeps dosent git moi !!!!!
Sources: Wikipedia
Silmarillion and Paradise Lost
Now, my unconscious,
like that of many writers,
is more of a Mordor than a Lothlórien.
Tolkien's was a compost-heap;
mine is muskeg.
Some of the methane
currently bubbling up unwanted from my muskeg
could flip a vast herd of caribou toes up ~
permanently.
Just in case anyone is wondering:
Caribou have four toes on each hoof.
That's a lot of hooves and toes
pointing skyward and inducing a lot of guilt.
Yes, writing can be lonely,
painful, difficult, and revealing,
There are complicated reasons why
Hemingway's wife found him
in his pajamas and robe
dead
in the foyer of their home
on July 1, 1961.
Suicide by 12-gauge shotgun.
Guaranteed, writing helped him pull the trigger.
Source: The New York Times
"What would be the purpose or reason to write?"
Duh! ~ my questioning friend was a third grade teacher!
sumtimes peeps dont git sumthin
thats obvious to many peeps around them
sumtimes tcr~peeps dont hear wat there telling theyre students
I'm betting my friend said something like this,
if he taught writing to his third graders.
I've said it countless times to my students over the decades.
I said it to him as well.
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blogging friend of mine
recently asked me a question:
What would be the purpose or reason to write?
We had both received the same advice
from people in our lives:
"You have a story in you.
You should write a book!
Let me tell you,
writing a book is easy ~ NOT!
It requires a tremendous amount of
commitment, passion, and energy
to sustain you through
late nights or early mornings
when the rest of the world is sleeping.
I was always fascinated with how
third grade students could brainstorm ideas
with brightly colored markers,
pieces of paper,
and noisy enthusiasm.
Their simplest writing pieces
could be astounding for their
revelations, insights, and wisdom.
Children Writing, Laos
Source: Wikimedia
Watch the writing process of children,
and you will know what arduous and serious work it is.
Children Writing, Germany
Source: Wikimedia
will do just about anything to avoid writing.
Why?
Duh!!!!!
Writing is hard, hard work.
Third grade boys are brilliant in their avoidance.
Check Out Boys Versus Girls, Thailand
Source: Wikimedia
No matter what
genre, form, and topic of writing
you choose to tackle,
it is not easy.
Even the shortest, funniest pieces
require much effort.
In fact, the shortest and funniest pieces
require the most effort.
Teachers push their students'
young minds, hearts, and souls
to write almost daily.
We constantly require them to do things
most sane adults would never attempt.
If you choose to tackle
the great American or Canadian novel,
Watch Out!
You may be in for a rough ride!
Probing the human heart and psyche
is the hardest and loneliest path one can walk.
It is also a painful and a dangerous walk.
Stunning revelations can surface
from your unconscious mind
to wreak havoc in your conscious mind.
Locating the Unconscious Mind
Source: Wikipedia
J.R.R. Tolkien described his unconscious as a
compost-heap consisting mainly of linguistic matter.
He once said that his stories grew
"... like a seed in the dark out of the leaf-mould of the mind."
A Facinating Mind
Source: Getty Images
"The Hobbit." Getty Images. Getty Images, Inc., 1999-2013. Answers.com 17 Jun. 2013. http://www.answers.com/topic/the-hobbit-large-image
Read more: http://www.answers.com/main/cite_this_answer.jsp#ixzz2WUvah67V
Hundreds of scholars have spent decades
probing that dark leaf-mould in an attempt
to understand how and why something
like JRRT's compost-heap
could produce his stunning canon.
I, myself, have been there probing Tolkien.
I have written many essays on his writing.
Pondering Tolkien, December, 2012
I once spent three long, coffee-fueled all~nighters
dealing three serious crises in my life
(over which I had no control and could do nothing about)
while writing a major research paper for a
course on J.R.R.Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and the Inklings.
On what topic you might ask?
A comparison of JRRT's Silmarillion with John Milton's Paradise Lost.
Just for once could you walk the easy path?
How could I do this?
Surely some man must be asking that question?
Answer:
I am a woman!
Hear me roar!
And many men think they're the strongest sex!
Irony is delicious! LOL!!!
Surely somebody is wondering about this too?
Answer: I am an INFJ.
Don't even ask what that means!
It's complicated!
But the short answer is
that it was fascinating and fun.
dont worry!!!!!
a lot of peeps dosent git moi !!!!!
Sources: Wikipedia
Silmarillion and Paradise Lost
Now, my unconscious,
like that of many writers,
is more of a Mordor than a Lothlórien.
Tolkien's was a compost-heap;
mine is muskeg.
Some of the methane
currently bubbling up unwanted from my muskeg
could flip a vast herd of caribou toes up ~
permanently.
Just in case anyone is wondering:
Caribou have four toes on each hoof.
That's a lot of hooves and toes
pointing skyward and inducing a lot of guilt.
Yes, writing can be lonely,
painful, difficult, and revealing,
There are complicated reasons why
Hemingway's wife found him
in his pajamas and robe
dead
in the foyer of their home
on July 1, 1961.
Suicide by 12-gauge shotgun.
Guaranteed, writing helped him pull the trigger.
Source: The New York Times
Ernest Hemingway
Source: Wikipedia
"What would be the purpose or reason to write?"
Duh! ~ my questioning friend was a third grade teacher!
sumtimes peeps dont git sumthin
thats obvious to many peeps around them
sumtimes tcr~peeps dont hear wat there telling theyre students
I'm betting my friend said something like this,
if he taught writing to his third graders.
I've said it countless times to my students over the decades.
I said it to him as well.
Every
person is unique.
No matter who they are,
scratch the surface,
and
you're going to find an important story.
Fireworks, South Africa
Source: Wikipedia
Also story telling (whatever
the form)
is the oldest and most powerful way
of passing on knowledge of
the human heart,
the human experience,
and what it means to be human.
Soluy and Terry Sharing Stories
Angkor Wat, Cambodia
December, 2008
I also told my friend that writing a book is not easy.
It is exhausting.
But he already knew these things.
He was a third grade boy man,
and third grade males
are very perceptive
at understanding
what even a short piece of writing requires.
I also told him that I was wrestling with
my manuscript "Human Refuse" right now.
That the lanced-heart of it goes straight
to Lac Suel in the summer of 1961.
That I was confronting
my Inner Gingerbread Man.
That I had hit a wall of Writer's Block.
Wrestling with Human Refuse
Not to worry! I am not an Ernest Hemingway!
Even though we shared the same difficult year,
I am a sparkly Firework
bursting with colors
that light up my darkness!
Fireworks, Washington D.C.
Source: Wikimedia
Gandalf, that wise old Wizard, made only one me!
What would be the purpose or reason to write?
Because if you get in the flow as a writer,
you will feel an exhilaration like nothing else.
It's like riding the best North Shore wave ever,
but you're surfing with a pen instead of a board.
Exhilaration ~ In the Flow!
Waimea Bay, Oahu, Hawaii
Source: Wikimedia
Beware of tackling writing, though.
You might end up buried in leaf-mould
or stuck in thawing muskeg,
and you'll have to flounder about
and struggle to find your inner firework.
Katy Perry's Firework in images:
Source: You Tube
Katy Perry's lyrics for Firework:
Source: You Tube
I find them both illuminating.
