I don’t know the first thing about how to write (as you probably noticed in this post). I nod along and pretend that I know what things like “subject” and “predicate” and “passive tense” actually mean. I mean, I think I have an idea, but it hasn’t held me back so far. To quote Schopenhauer again, “to have something to say” is “by itself virtually a sufficient condition for good style.” I’ll take grade school dropout writing passionately in his prison cell over some empty, superior Yale MFA any day.
....What matters more now than any other single thing is that what you’re saying is different–that it’s interesting, that it provokes some response from people. You’ll only accomplish this if you’ve got something you have to say. Better yet, you need to have something that you can’t NOT say. If what you’re writing is a compulsion rather than a vehicle for your display how smart and well practiced you are.
So think about it one more time. Is it that you want to be a writer? Or it’s that you have these things inside you that you want very badly to communicate to people and writing is the best way to do it?
Getting the answer to that question right is the day you really become a writer.
- Ryan Holiday
I just read the most awesome article titled So You Want To Be A Writer? That’s Mistake #1 and it was incredibly inspiring. It pretty much summed up in a way why I haven't been pushing myself as much to get my writing out there. Granted what he's saying in this article is all his opinion and how he went about to find his success but I completely agree more than anything, and think it makes total sense what he's saying. Having that compulsive feeling to speak out about something is what I want to have. I want to write about things that I want to make sure people know about but it solely unique to my life and my story. I loved this guy's explanation for how to become a better writer because he explained that he doesn't exactly know every little detail about writing, which I'm totally guilty of, what the fuck is a predicate? Anyways, it helped him find his voice and his style that he can confidently say is his. Through the different perspectives he's gained by pretty much going that extra mile to make his life more interesting.
I've been saying I want to write about music for years. Which I do, don't get me wrong, but there are also so many other things I know I could and would love to write about. Not that I have found them yet, but I'm recently coming to terms with the fact that these other possibilities are what I want. This is an outlet that can get my voice heard, so honing my ability to express myself, and expanding what I have to express can lead me down so many interesting paths with writing. I may not even end up writing about music my mind wavers all the time. To be honest mostly because I'm a big baby who thinks I'll never be good at it. I just love the idea of making people think, while entertaining them, through writing.
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