Here to Create

We are here to create not merely survive.

Greetings from the Bottom of the Well

I apologize for not posting recently, but I just haven’t been up to it.

December is a deep, dark well that I will only begin to climb out of after the season turns on Saturday and the daylight hours begin to slowly increase. And I won’t really feel like myself again until spring. December is always a triple whammy for me: the stress of the semester ending, the stress of Christmas preparations, and the gloom of the season’s creep toward the winter solstice. So what’s the result of all this holiday cheer? I no more feel like writing than I feel like rolling naked in the snow.

When I do force myself to write, it’s self-pitying journaling for the most part, but some of what I write is more introspective. Maybe I’m absorbing the reflectiveness that seems to be the topic of every blog I read lately, but I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about what I’m doing and what I want to be doing.

One of the things I’ve been musing on is what to do with Here to Create. When I began, I was modeling the blog off what I was reading at the time, blogs like Zen Habits and Scott H. Young. Most of the self-improvement and productivity blogs have an authoritative tone that inspires the trust of the reader. During the first few months of Here to Create I attempted to imitate that tone. Then in November, as I chronicled my experiences with National Novel Writing Month, I adopted a much more personal tone that felt more comfortable and genuine to me. But now that November is over and my novel is resting, I’ve been floundering on the blog, trying to decide what to write and how to write it.

As I figure out the direction I want to take with Here to Create, there may be some changes coming in how frequently I post and on what topics, but I’m not planning on giving up writing here. I’ve enjoyed myself too much to stop now.

Also, I want your input. What kinds of posts do you most enjoy? Are there any topics you’d like to see me explore? Let me know in the comments.

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The Right to Write

What is a writer? Is it someone who makes a living writing? Is it someone who has been published? Or is it just someone who writes? And when I say “someone who writes,” I don’t mean that everyone who writes a grocery list should be accused of being a writer. I mean people who write purposefully, whether they have aspirations of publication or not.

I don’t tend to make these distinctions, but if asked, I say that I’m an amateur writer. I certainly don’t have the presumption to compare myself to famous writers of the past, or even to anyone who’s published, but I still think I’m a writer, albeit an amateur one.

I’ve been thinking about the meaning of being a writer today, because I’ve just been reading 101 Reasons to Stop Writing and trying to decide if I’m offended or not. I think Sean Lindsay has some good points. Far too many people think of the “wealth and fame” they’ll have when they’re published long before they even have a first draft. And there are probably far too many bad books published. But I couldn’t help but wonder: who’s tying this poor man down and making him buy and read all these terrible books? Publishing, like all businesses, is market driven. If there are bad books being published, it’s probably because there are people who will buy them.

Lindsay also criticizes NaNoWriMo pretty severely. Like many people who disparage NaNo, I think he’s trying too hard. Yes, judging by the NaNo forums, some participants think they will have a complete novel, ready to send to publishers, by the end of the month. But many serious writers also use the adrenaline from NaNo’s forced pace to increase the time they spend writing or to help them work toward a goal. And many participants just write because it’s fun, challenging, and an exercise in creativity. True, the emphasis on writing “crap” is perhaps overdone in the NaNo promotional literature, but the larger point is to overcome inhibitions and take creative risks. And most participants understand that what they have at the end of NaNo is an extremely rough draft.

So what does this have to do with the definition of “writer”? When I’m confronted with the idea that I should just stop writing if I’m not good enough to be a bestselling author, I feel the need to reinforce the validity of writing as an amateur, for fun. Why should anyone who enjoys writing stop? The idea seems comparable to saying that those who bicycle for fun should stop unless they’re good enough to compete in the Tour de France. Or that the people who play instruments in the community band should stop if they have no future as professional musicians. There’s no shame in pursuing an activity just for fun.

So although I agree with some of Lindsay’s reasons, he hasn’t convinced me to stop writing. What about you?

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