How to Become a Writer.

Civilization started when man first used the written word, or symbol, to transmit meaning across space and time. One crude sketch on a rock wall of a cave could now marry the past with the future, and some primal markings on a piece of papaya could accompany a traveler and transmit the author’s thought to another continent. Truly, writing is nothing short of spiritual intercourse.

The Power of Words

For those of you open enough to metaphorical value of the bible, you may recall the writer’s description of Genesis. Basically, the world spawned from the Word of God. Namely, he spoke everything into existence. Later on, God realized a spoken word was enough to create, but the written word was needed to make his vision come true. The people who received the ten commandments could now have the guidelines to realize God’s vision.

Writer’s write.

In life, what you say, feel, or think only really matters to you. Your actions, however, can make those personal worlds of dreams, ideas and emotions real. But what is real? In this sense, reality is a shared experience of the human condition. Reality dictates we all die, we all need food, we reproduce through sex. If these truths only applied to you, the word ‘reality’ would not describe the situation. However, we all share the same reality , yet all too often become obsessed with what we say, think or feel about it. But writing down your desires, feelings, goals, and thoughts creates a shared experience when others read your words. You may argue I believe in positive affirmations, but only if they’re written down and very specific.

Don’t Wait for the Muse

Don’t wait to be inspired. The muse comes to those who court her. If you block out just ten minutes a day to write-and write ANYTHING-just put word after word as it pops in your mind. Stephen King’s book On Writing documents King’s secret to his prolific body of work. Everyday he writes for a certain amount of time-even Christmas or birthdays. King also describes some great analysis of his approach to plot and character development and likens his stories as artifacts being unearthed by archaeologists. For King, the story already exists and the writer’s job is simply to discover and recover the story. Another book that advocates not waiting for inspiration but instead fight resistance is Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art. I highly recommend those two books.

Don’t try to make sense in your writing. Besides, the real writing comes in editing. The challenging part is creating something to edit. So just pretend you are Jack Kerouac on speed writing a novel on a roll of paper towels in one long stream of consciousness rant. Every time you feel yourself think or analyze what you are writing, turn the thought away. Imagine the thought dissipates when you blink your eyes. Imagine the thought disappearing just because you want it to. Instead, find the rhythms in the words you are using. I promise, if you keep this practice up, you’re hand will suddenly write a great idea beyond your limited mind.

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