Writing

Writing isn’t easy. I know this, because I write a lot. Also because most people who write for a living typically talk about how difficult it can be. But there is really nothing like the thrill of writing something that receives good feedback.

Very few people who write things are intensely proud of what they’ve written. How can we judge, objectively, if what has been written is good or bad? What even is good writing, and who says? When so deeply tied to what you’re writing, how can you remove your own self-criticisms and determine whether your point really was well-made?

Though it’s a solitary activity, writing requires collaboration. It needs another set of eyes. It’s so hard not to take it personally when something you’ve written gets torn apart (or worse, rewritten) by an editor or peer. It’s so hard to not see it as a reflection of your own skill.

I think one of the things I love about writing is how much thought goes into it. Everything that goes down on the page, everything that doesn’t get deleted for the final product, every single word was a choice. Changing a single word or restructuring a sentence can affect so much. A single sentence can take 10 minutes to write, only to be re-written a few moments later. I’m almost tempted to try to write out how many times those two previous sentences changed as I was writing them, but even if I remembered what my original thought was, it would feel too personal to share. The process is private.

My favourite kind of writing is a narrative style – the more personal the better. I love to (try to) capture a mood or feeling. I love hearing the voice in my head, whether I’m writing for myself or on behalf of someone else. Headphones in, music drowning out the rest of the world. I can hear how all the words sound as I’m trying them out. I picture the situation where someone is speaking, and carefully select the appropriate language to suit the occasion. It’s like playing pretend.

I’m reviving this old post – originally drafted in March 2021 but never published – to try to encourage myself to get back to writing. My current job doesn’t allow me to do as much creative / narrative writing, which is fine, since it’s something I struggled with anyway. I’ve only recently learned the value of doing things just for me. So maybe it’s time to write just for me a bit more.