I am not just a writer or just a dad blogger any more than I am just a father, friend or man.
Nor am I solely the product of my experiences. You may wonder if or why it matters for me to define myself this way and all I can respond with is our personal definition of who we are is the most important one of all.
At least that is how I see it today, as a 46-year-old man who is looking out at the world thinking very carefully about the future I want and considering what actions I can and should take to make those things happen.
Yet I never forget who I am today is not who I once was nor who I might end up becoming. All I know is that I technically don’t have time to write this but I am going to find a way to compress time and fit something in because writing is like breathing to me and I choke without my air.
The Strength Of A Writer
The strength of a writer lies in remembering those scars. The minutes and moments that left their imprint are a big part of the well I draw upon to write these posts and the fiction that you see intermixed in it all.
I don’t have any particular rituals for writing that I have to follow in order to make the words flow from my fingertips. Most of the time I just need a place to sit and my headphones for when the noise around me finally becomes a nuisance.
Someone asked me to describe how I write fiction and part of me laughed because I haven’t published any books or stories. Written tons of them, sent out millions of characters into cyberspace but there is nothing in print that proves I am a published writer…of fiction.
Got other stuff out there that is published, but most of it is old or doesn’t contain my name so you wouldn’t know it was me and even if you stumbled across it you might not recognize my writing.
I sometimes wonder about that, how many people can truly recognize my writing and how many don’t. Doesn’t really matter, just something I think about from time to time.
But that doesn’t answer the question about how I write my fiction now does it. Doesn’t provide much insight so I suppose I ought to address it.
The answer is it depends.
Sometimes something or someone sets me off and I start thinking about those moments and sometimes they include a scar.
Since I am not the kind of guy who is always willing to leave well enough alone I pick at those scars and then I remember.
Memory sets off a click, a whirl and a switch and I am on Mr. Toad’s wild ride, driving the car with my knees and one eye blindfolded.
I never know where those stories are going to go until I see the words on the paper/screen.
The strength of a writer lies in remembering those scars.Click To TweetThe Difference Between Me & You
“Jack, what is the difference between me and you?”
“You try to limit your writing to doing so when you have something to say. You focus on never producing content that might not be well received and I don’t.”
That was my response years ago and it still is today or at least when it comes to blogging. I don’t report to a supervisor or editor.
There is no authority looking down upon my writing so I just write as I wish.
It goes through cycles here where I share basic thoughts or stories like the Mother In The Men’s Room, Four Generations & A Wedding, Grandpa and A Father Describes Parenting.
There are different approaches like Cheaper Than A $5 Whore With Less Risk of Infection or Twenty-Five Links That Will Make You A Better Writer/Blogger too.
For me it is always about the writing and stoking the fire that the muse lives in. I don’t worry about whether these posts will be loved or hated because it is unusual energy suck.
I just follow my passion and do my best to try to do this well. It is the same lesson I teach my children, half the battle is showing up and then doing more than just being a part of the background.
My wife once saw me reading a book (can’t even recall what it was about now, it was that long ago), and she asked me why I was reading that particular book as opposed to one she liked, on the same topic, by a different author, one who was a renowned and respected expert in the field.
I told her, “I read that book. He’s a very proficient writer. Fills you with facts and information. But our friend Susan recommended I read this one, too.”
“Why?” my wife asked. “I’ve read the book you’re reading, and it’s full of typos and unstructured sentences. It’s almost like the author forgot to get an editor and just published his own words.”
“Exactly,” I smiled, and went back to my book.
It’s not the words. It’s what the words say, and how.
Cheers, fella.
Exactly, it is what they say and how they say it that makes all the difference. Presentation, rhyme and reason.
Hi Jack,
Love the quote from King. My best work is without a doubt got a scar or two showing. I can talk about my beloved father in The Old Gray Sweater or talk of the isolation of homelessness in The House On the Hill.
I have a favorite quote by Robert Frost “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.”
Yes, the best writers show their scars and remember them well.
Hey Nancy,
That is one of my favorite quotes too. I think I was about 14 when I first heard it, didn’t get it then but I do now. So very important.
“All I know is that I technically don’t have time to write this but I am going to find a way to compress time and fit something in because writing is like breathing to me and I choke without my air.” <–YES
Sometimes it is just what you have to do.
I like that last piece of advice. Speaking form personal experience – it can definitely be a time suck.
Huge time suck for certain, just not worth it.