Of my many passions in life, writing has got to rank in the top 5 along with reading. There is something about writing that I’m so drawn to and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in that aspect. It’s so amazing. Thinking on paper. A comprehensive look at what’s going on in your mind and the minds of others. An EKG reading of your thoughts if you will.
I cannot say enough good things about writing. And I’m not talking about the kind of writing you did in high school or college, in other words, the “structured, academic” type of writing. I distinctly remember having difficulty in my university writing class because I could not adapt to the “academic” form of writing.
Most of you know what that form of writing is. It’s the type of writing that encourages the use of language which seeks to sound intelligent, academic, in short sound “smart”, and I resisted it because in my mind, ultimately the main idea behind writing is to clearly convey the idea(s) you want to express to the person reading it. And that meant for me, writing in a different style, in my own style, in very plain and easy to understand English, and I remember bringing this up to my professor and she agreed, but said rules were rules, tradition was tradition, so I reluctantly adapted my writing in order to pass the class.
Writing can be very liberating and I think one of the reasons why some choose not to engage in it is that they are afraid they can’t get it right. There is no right or wrong way of writing. There is no writing style that’s better than another. There is only YOUR writing. YOUR words. YOUR thoughts. YOUR emotions. YOUR style.
And the kind of writing I encourage you to do in this article will only be read by yourself. So who cares what it looks or sounds like? They are for your eyes only.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words? I think our words are worth a million words.
When I write in my journal and look back at my entries, I can clearly reconstruct the events of that particular day in my mind with greater clarity than any picture can ever capture. Pictures tend to only capture what is on the outside and even then, pictures can be misleading. Writing cuts through everything to reveal the raw truth at what a person is really thinking.
When you write and start to write consistently, you will develop your own style, your own way to express yourself that will in turn be able to paint a better picture of what’s going on in your mind than anything ever will. People go to therapists to tell them what’s going on in their mind, but I think in some mild cases, you can have your own therapy session right in your own room just from picking up that pen and writing on a clean sheet of paper and you’ll soon see with your own eyes, what exactly is going on in your mind.
And that leads to probably one of the biggest assets of writing and that is crystal clear clarity. Crystal clear. Clearer than the water you will find on the beaches of Hawaii.
Writing can clarify any issue you have and in turn, solidify our thinking to show you what’s really going on. It can sort out the mess and make sense of it, which in turns, becomes very therapeutic as you become less stressful.
Sometimes, we may have a problem that we are wrestling with or a decision we have to make that we’ve been putting off, only to become more indecisive and unsure because of the many thoughts swirling in our head as we procrastinate. There’s no “room” to sort it all out and it becomes very muddy and crowded.
Writing will create room in your mind and as you write about your problem and your thoughts on it, you will find that you’ll naturally start clarifying what you are thinking because you are forced to do exactly that when writing. You will have a clear picture of the problem and then you will start going off tangents to solutions. It’s a really great feeling and this leads to the second power of writing, problem solving, but I think I’ve already written about that before so I’ll stop on that tangent there.
So write about your dreams, write about the problem you’re having, write about the ideal life you would like to live, write, write, write and let your mind soar free. Hold nothing back. There is no such thing as writers block and even if you think you have it, just write. The first rule of writing is to just write.
And it’s incredible. It really is. I love it and I encourage all of you to practice it. Just write. Dump your feelings and thoughts on paper and see where it takes you. So often we are confused, worried, indecisive, but when we think on paper, clarity, new direction, and understanding become the byproducts of it, showing you what’s ultimately going on. And it’s probably no wonder why I love reading as well, as I am literally peeking into the minds of others, especially when it comes to the autobiographies I read.
I’m reminded of a quote I heard Sean Connery say in “Finding Forrester” and it goes something like this.
“How come the words we write for ourselves are so much better than the words we write for others?”
They are, simply because they are your very own.
Remember, there is no right or wrong way of writing.
Just your own.
