I write, therefore I am.
Everyone writes and reads so to each one’s own. Therefore, I’d immediately like to shed the concept of an “advice” column on “how-to-write” and speak to you from the perspective of a fellow writer, sharing my thoughts on writing rather than pre-suppose what I have to say has some secret sauce over what is already out there. Instead, this will be personal.
Make it Personal:
Some of the most cherished writings of all time are letters from one ordinary person to another, usually a friend or loved one. This is a quality that I find “rocks it” every time and something I strive for in my writing. Write like you are writing a letter to your best friend and that faceless reader is hooked. You won’t use big fancy words, you won’t sound stuck-up or pretentious. You’ll bring yourself, as you are, to personal writing. Bring it. Some examples. . .
“You have no idea how much my soul ached to have been underground and unable to tell you I was alive. The hardest thing is not being able to see you.”
~ Letter from Chilean Miner, Edison Pena, trapped half-a-mile underground.
“Sarah my love for you is deathless, it seems to bind me with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break; and yet my love of Country comes over me …”
~ Letter from Major Sullivan Ballou to his wife Sarah. He was killed a week later in the First Battle of Bull Run, July 21st, 1861, age 32. Sarah lives to be 90, never remarries and is buried next to him.
Use the Honest Voice:
There’s a difference between young writers who are trying to “find their voice” and faking the voice. “The Voice” is the person the reader hears telling the story or reading the poem. So whereas you may indeed be able to sound like Anne Rice or Tom Clancy for a few amazing paragraphs, no matter how hard you try the real you will come through. And both the reader and you will hit a wall like an egg-splat when that happens. The reader will say something like, hey, wait just a minute . . . you’re no Stephen King or whomever you are trying to sound like. That loss of trust is catastrophic. It’s like an actor trying to affect the English or French accent of a character but just can’t pull it off. The illusion they are English or French is gone and nearly the whole movie is tainted because of it.
A friend once asked me to comment on a book she was working on and the first thing I noticed was the shifting narrator voice. I made a note to her how I’d have rather heard all the chapters in a more natural honest voice, her voice. Years later at a writer’s retreat I had the pleasure of hearing her read excerpts from her latest book, all of which were in her natural voice. And it rocked! Her natural writing voice that merged with her speaking voice was pure, simple, and beautiful. It was honest. When writing, strive to be honest, speak your honest voice as you write. For me, just writing this was a good reminder too.
Write First, Ask Questions Later:
You’re a human being. It’s a safe bet you can tell a story whether you think you can or not. (Psst.. . .You can.) Telling a story, our story, is part of what makes us human. Sharing those stories as we’ve done from time immemorial is one or our favorite things to do. So here I’d like to recommend you foster a regular writing behavior for yourself. A “discipline,” it’s called. It may be a diary. It may be a pen pal. It could be a writer’s club. What it isn’t is the writing you are required to do for school or church or work. Technically “writing words” as in homework assignments or emails to co-workers is writing, but true writing like the kind I’m talking about here and the kind that makes you a better writer is mostly writing you chose to do. Why? Because it’s who you are, it’s what you do. You’re a writer, right? If you’re not sure just take a simple test. So, for me this is a feeling sotra thing. I wake up in the middle of the night and I’m compelled to write down the words swimming in my dream fuzzy brain. I feel some of my best work starts this way and sure a lot of it is nonsense. What is for sure is that if I don’t write it down at 3:00am, those wee dark hours when we are most honestly ourselves, whatever it is will be gone my morning. Trust me.
Test Yourself:
One of the most prized pieces of writing I’ve ever done is a letter I wrote to my grandmother from college in 1981. (Yes, 1981, And I’ve heard all the jokes like yes, I am still alive.) Oh, that letter is generally a dumb, trite, and superficial thing. You know, small talk stuff, how I’m feeling, how hard classes are, how bad the food is and miscellaneous what-nots. I mean, really if I’m too frank about what I’m actually doing at college, she’ll tell my mom! At the end, I do tell her, very personally, honestly, written straight from the heart and hopefully a glimpse of the writer I would become. . .simply how much I missed her cooking and how much I loved her. Grandma went to heaven a few months later. My late mother found my letter in her bible.
So, if you believe you are a writer or maybe just wondering if you are, test yourself. Take this simple writing test. In the next week or so write a letter or note to someone you love or maybe your state senator about an issue you feel passionate about. If you are a writer, right about now you can’t wait to start writing, probably thinking about what it will say, how happy it will make the person receiving it. Why? Because it’s who we are, it’s what we do.
We write, therefore we are!
Peace and Beautiful Writing,
Raymond Gerrard Bugay, aka poet Girard Tournesol
