Inspiration for Writing

This simple little video shares many quotes on writing (by writers).

More than a few of these have given me the inspiration I need to keep writing when it just wasn't fun anymore. They remind me that writers make a difference.

Enjoy!



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Surrounded by Writers

Writing is generally a very solitary act.  Not that all writers are loners, but when you are writing, the interaction is generally between you and the computer.  I try to think about potential readers as I write, but the conversation is in my head before it comes out on the screen.

So, here I am in Las Vegas at the Blog World and New Media Expo, and I am surrounded by writers. For the first time in quite a while, I feel connected to a community of writers.  Wow! It's quite a feeling.

There is a huge mass of folks here who write blogs about how to make money online, but there are also hundreds of other niches represented here. In the last two days, I have met people who write about fitness, aging, retirement, home repair, personal development, time management online gaming, faith, weight loss, and more. I haven't met any other grant writers yet, but there is still time.  Who knows?

I have collected a thick pile of business cards and I have handed out just as many. I have talks to writers from all over the United States as well as a few from the U.K., Australia, and India. We have all stepped out of our isolation to come together to share lessons, ideas, and resources.

In about 24 hours, though, this community of writers will separate.  People will board planes for destinations all over the world. By Monday, we'll be back in front of our computers again, writing alone.

But we'll still be connected.  It's a virtual connection that we'll use to share ideas, encouragement, and resources until it's time to get together again next year.

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Other posts you may like:

If You Can read This, Be Grateful -- Literacy is Not Universal

Dealing with Change

Writing about Regrets

My Secret Late Night Pleasure

A Life in 140 Words or Less

Does public education support or discourage young writers?

My youngest son starts school for the year the day after tomorrow.  Aside from reeling from how quickly the summer has gone by, I'm contemplating the mixed feelings I have about public education and what it does for (and to) young writers.

I started thinking about this (again) several months as I read a very interesting book by Kelly Gallagher,  entitled Readicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It. In the book, Mr. Gallagher discusses how schools overemphasize literary analysis at the expense of leading kids to a lifelong love of reading.  As a result, children end up disliking reading because they think of it as an academic chore, rather than as a tool for learning and enjoyment.

I have similar thoughts about writing education. I remember when schools were criticized during the whole language era for not focusing enough on the conventions of writing (for example, proper spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc.).  So the pendulum started swinging the other way, and there's lots of emphasis now on the conventions of writing, and not much allowance at all for creativity.

I'll never forget something that happened about 4 years ago with my oldest son.  He had written an excellent short story for his English class.  It was creative - very creative.  Not only that, but he had experimented with several literary devices that we had talked about while reading a book together at home. It was not completely technically correct, but none of the errors affected the meaning or flow of the story.  I encouraged him to correct some of the more egregious errors, but I chose to ignore the rest (and there weren't many others) because I wanted to focus on the great content and structure of the story, and encourage him for that accomplishment. As a writer, I was impressed.  I was excited for him to get positive feedback from his teacher.

Several days later, he came home from school dejected.  His teacher didn't like his story.  I asked to see it, and I saw that she had marked every single tiny technical error in red.  She criticized several of his word choices (words he had very carefully chosen--I know, because we had discussed those choices), and took issue with how he chose to end the story. The grade was nothing close to what either of us had expected. I remembered how I used to get two grades on writing projects in school - one for content and one for conventions.  In this case, putting it all together in a grade most heavily impacted by conventions had a devastating effect.

I was angry.  I was torn between wanting to support the school, and wanting to encourage his gift. Writing is hard enough - both technically and emotionally  - writers do not need teachers to use their red pens to gouge the love for writing out of children's hearts.  Yes, I realize that sounds harsh, but that's exactly what it is.

My oldest son's story has a happy ending.  He knows he has a gift and he's developing it now as an adult.  He blogs.  He experiments with his writing.  He's developing his own voice, and it's creative, unique, powerful. I read his work and smile at its maturity, it's complexity, and it's clarity. He still has some issues with writing conventions, but he's working on those and making good progress. He understands that writing is his opportunity to get his voice out to the world.  He knows it's all about communication.  Unfortunately, he didn't get that from the school. He got that from having a parent who saw his gift and refused to let the school kill it.

It shouldn't be that way. The word educate comes from the Latin root meaning "to lead out."  Educators should lead the talent out of children.  It's already there.  Educators don't need to implant it into kids. In fact, efforts to do that end up stifling it.

I look at my little one who already loves to write.  He doesn't read yet so his writing is....interesting.  But he loves it.  He writes letters in combinations that form words, and sometimes they look like real words and often they don't, but he takes great joy in sharing his writing. Will his teachers lead his gift out of him, encourage it, help him to continue to discover the joy in it?  Or will they slowly extinguish it?  How hard will I have to work to keep it alive?

It doesn't matter what it takes.  That's my job.

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Am I the only one who doesn't care where LeBron James plays basketball?

Lots of big things are happening in the world this week. The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Arizona over its new immigration law. Johannes Mehserle was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of Oscar Grant, and 83 people were arrested in Oakland for rioting and looting in the aftermath of the verdict. The oil spill in the Gulf continues to have a growing negative impact on wildlife and commerce in the region. And let's not forget that the economy is still a mess and millions of people are out of work.

In spite of all this, what is the biggest news coming from the media outlets (both traditional and online)?

LeBron James.

When they are not reporting about LeBron's big decision about where to play, they are reporting about the reaction to LeBron's decision.

Don't get me wrong.  I fully understand that professional sports is a business - big business - and that LeBron has a right to make money like any other business person.  I also understand that his decision has some pretty big financial repercussions for a lot of people, especially in Cleveland and Miami.  For that reason, the story is newsworthy. But to what degree? Should it drown out all other news?

I don't think so.  What happened to perspective?

Do writers in all forms of media have an obligation to help the public maintain a sense of perspective or is it all about the money?

Has journalism become a business of information prostitution and are journalists now just media whores writing what sells and ignoring the real news that impacts the greatest number of people?

That's what it looks like to me. I'm disgusted.

I really don't care where LeBron James plays basketball.

I don't care what Lindsay Lohan paints on her nails, either.

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What would you write if you weren't afraid?

Yesterday I was reading a guest post on Copyblogger by Johnny B. Truant that really got me thinking.  Here's what caught my eye:

"If you’re stuck in your writing, I’d bet almost anything that it’s because deep inside, you’re hung up on what’s dying to be said versus what “should” be said in the eyes of your family, your friends, the world, or even yourself.

You hesitate on topics, on phrasing, on fears that your grammar is bad. Take your pick of an excuse, but what’s stopping you is you."

How many times have you wanted to write something but you stopped because of what others might think? Of course, there are times when we need to think about what we write before we do, but I think Johnny is right.  We self-edit way too much.  We push our creativity away because we are afraid of the response we'll get.

I find it interesting how fearful so many people are about their writing. The fear of writing is known as graphophobia, but I don't think most people have graphophobia.  What they have is fear of revealing themselves.  Fear of being judged by others.

There are great posts all over the Internet about how to overcome your fear of writing, but I think you should start by asking yourself, "What would you write if you weren't afraid?"  Johnny B. Truant gave himself a pen name to free himself from the fear of judgment, and that's when his writing took off.

I have a good friend who publishes a blog called Cranky Blog. I highly recommend that you subscribe to it. What I love most about Cranky Blog is its fearlessness. Quite often I'll read something there and have the simultaneous thoughts, "I can't believe he wrote that!" and "I agree with that 100%." And then there are the things I don't agree with at all, but they are written with such a clear honesty and fearlessness that I can't help but read more.

If you have ever just let your creativity fly free without thought about how it might reflect on you, you know how freeing it feels.  I'm not talking about irresponsibility or libel, but speaking your truth with courage.

So, ask yourself what you would write if you were not afraid.  Then write it!

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