II. Write every day
Even if it's a want ad or a letter to your mother or an email, writers should write every day. Not that I think it's important to keep your fingers nimble, although if you feel that way, go for it. It's usually not my fingers that rebel, thankfully. It's my brain, or rather, my insistence on having something to say.
And guess what? Once I start writing, it's kind of like riding the old bike...as soon as I start pedaling, things get rolling easily. Put another way, I find I have something to say. (Whether anyone wants to read what I have to say is a whole other issue.) All of these thoughts that have been rolling around in my head actually make a sentence. They may not initially ring with clarity, but the act of putting letters together and seeing black words against a white background makes me take them more seriously.
OK. I take the written word too seriously. I know I do, and have for as far back as I can remember, which encompasses the time spent in Mrs. Waller's English class, and the creative assignments she challenged us with. But if a writer does not show a little bit of reverance, envy even, for the written word, who is left to care for it? If you are a television watcher during this season of striking writers, you know exactly what I mean. Unless, that is, you are a fan of greed...er, excuse me...game shows where the rules are weird and viewers' attention is directed to girls in sparkly minidresses carrying suitcases. (In my reveries, Clara Peller interrupts that particular show with her famous "Where's the beef?" query from those old Wendy's commercials.)
But I digress, as writers do. I set out to list reasons why you should write every day. So here goes:
1. Writing keeps the brain doing jumping jacks, as opposed to sleeping, eating or watching TV. Reading is also excellent at tickling the brain, but writers also must write. Note: You can write when you are dusting, gardening, making the bed, cooking, walking, etc. Just keep the computer on or a notepad handy. I often do my best writing away from the article I am working on.
2. The act of writing gets easier the more often you do it. It's like exercising daily, eating, or brushing your teeth. You DO brush your teeth every day, right? Anyway...just make writing part of your daily routine, whether you are working on an assignment or not. (You CAN make your own assignments, you know, and sometimes you should write exactly what you want to.)
3. As you write more, the words often come more frequently when you call them, and your voice gets stronger. This does not mean that good writing is easy. But have you noticed those times when the perfect words just flow, seemingly from your fingers, and your brain does not even seem to be connected? And the book chapter or story or whatever just seems to write itself, sentence after sentence? I haven't made a study of it, but it stands to reason that if you write all the time, that serendipity happens more often. Fun times.
4. Writing helps you organize your thoughts. If it looks silly in black on white, you know you won't want to say it, right? I write down everything: speeches, what I want to say to the doctor, questions before an interview, serious memos. I don't go into the supermarket without a list, so why would I go into any of those scarier places unprepared?
5. It's what you do. If you don't take yourself seriously enough to practice what you do reguarly, neither will anyone else.
This is one in a series of writing ideas. Upcoming articles will focus on finding a writing niche (I'm still trying to find mine), having fun with your work, etc. Please feel free to comment with your own ideas and questions. If I can't answer it, maybe another writer can.
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