Writing feels scary. On the one hand, there are people in my life that encourage me to write. “When are you going to write your next book?” Or, “Do you have a blog I can follow?” Or a consistent line of encouragement to, “keep writing.”
On the other hand, there are already so many words written by so many others that are better writers. There are legitimate scholarly writers... or poetic writers... or grammatically correct writers... But, as I am always saying to the musicians and artists that I know, “There is room in the world for your personal approach to create and write and express your music and art.” So I guess I must be willing to participate in the same risk taking vein.
So, for now, I will write from the way my brain organizes and experiences the world. To begin with, my writing will not follow standard scholarly protocols, though someday, I may participate in a more formal medium. For now, I will write from my essence. Think of this as my "living" writing. A dynamic journal of sorts. Do you know the Geronimo Stilton books with all the expressive words? When I was young I was always craving books to be written more alive! The tiny black and white words on the page were so hard for me to connect with to capture my imagination. So think of this current format as my “living” writing. My dynamic journal. There will be words written. I will use enough grammatically correct tools to communicate clearly. But I will allow the breaking of rules to express.
The strange thing is, at this point in my life, I do actually feel like I have something to say. Or more accurately, I feel compelled to reflect observations about people, relationships, this thing we call life and, in general, the world around me. I write not because my words or observations are “the best” or “most right” but rather because of my original view. My convergence of experience, knowledge, training, and observations positions me to have a unique vantage point; it is from this perch that I share.
Another reason why engaging in this experiment is kind of fun is because new connections are made; new experiences occur; new knowledge enters in producing new observations into the equation.
This is where...
new stories arise...
paradigm shifts occur...
lights turn on...
And maybe...
just maybe...
...a tiny shift towards all that is true and noble, right and pure, lovely and admirable, excellent and praiseworthy...might occur, if nowhere else, within my own soul.
As I observe how other writers begin to capture their words in a meaningful way, often there is a friend or a group of friends present, providing encouragement to take the next step. The tiniest feedback like, “keep writing” or “what’s next” or “tell me more” is all it takes to keep the dynamic growing. I’m not ready to enter in to arenas where critical evaluation is the norm. I’m just learning to have a voice beyond a conversation.
So, for now, I’m taking the year 2020 to experiement with moving forward in my “living” writing format. Thank you for joining me in this experiment.
