Today I would like to suggest yet another tip
to becoming a better writer. Today's tip actually has more to do with
not writing than actually writing, as odd as that might sound.
BALANCE.
This topic occurred to me while reading Notes of a Dirty Old Man by Charles Bukowski. In one particular piece Bukowski attempts to explain a bout of writer's block that he once suffered and indirectly attributes his problems to the existence of daily mail delivery.
Anyone who has read anything that I have ever written knows how much I love Charles Bukowski. I have always been drawn to his direct no holds bar way of writing. The reader never has to wonder what Bukowski is thinking. Make no mistake he is going to tell you and in no uncertain terms. He has been called a bully, a hack, a womanizer and worse. Regardless as to what you or I may think of the man he is clearly one of the most influential writers of the last century.
As a former postal employee, Bukowski has every right to criticize the postal service. He worked for that organization for a decade first as a mail carrier and later as a postal clerk. To put it bluntly, the man paid his dues in that organization and has every right to criticize his former employer.
Despite this fact, I have to wonder if the distraction of daily mail delivery is really a legitimate excuse for writer's block. In this particular exert, Bukowski admits that he became obsessed with reading and responding to his readers' correspondence. At the outset this sounds admirable. He later admits that he usually only responded to the women, and more often to the attractive female readers who included photos of themselves in their correspondence. These admissions lead the reader to question whether the interruption of his daily mail carrier was really the cause of his struggles with writer's block. Instead, allow me to suggest that the contents of those deliveries and his obsession with certain female fans might actually have been the root cause.
While I doubt that many of us have had this same exact experience we have all experienced writer's block. Whether we write novels, poetry, short stories or even something more technical or business related each of us has stared at a blank screen or sheet of paper in frustration at some point.
May I suggest that rather than blame arbitrary events and distractions (such as daily mail delivery) for our problems that we should all learn to lead a more balanced life. We cannot afford to become our own creations. Balance is the key to everything. If you write in the mornings then by all means write in the mornings. But do something else in the afternoon and evening. If you write in the afternoons or evening by all means be true to your routine but find something different and more social to do during your mornings.
Despite certain stereotypes not all great writers are antisocial recluses.
I hope that together we can continue to grow as writers and as human beings.
It is essential to find a good healthy balance that will allow each of us to become a better writer every day!
Thanks again for reading and as always...
KEEP WRITING!
BALANCE.
This topic occurred to me while reading Notes of a Dirty Old Man by Charles Bukowski. In one particular piece Bukowski attempts to explain a bout of writer's block that he once suffered and indirectly attributes his problems to the existence of daily mail delivery.
Anyone who has read anything that I have ever written knows how much I love Charles Bukowski. I have always been drawn to his direct no holds bar way of writing. The reader never has to wonder what Bukowski is thinking. Make no mistake he is going to tell you and in no uncertain terms. He has been called a bully, a hack, a womanizer and worse. Regardless as to what you or I may think of the man he is clearly one of the most influential writers of the last century.
As a former postal employee, Bukowski has every right to criticize the postal service. He worked for that organization for a decade first as a mail carrier and later as a postal clerk. To put it bluntly, the man paid his dues in that organization and has every right to criticize his former employer.
Despite this fact, I have to wonder if the distraction of daily mail delivery is really a legitimate excuse for writer's block. In this particular exert, Bukowski admits that he became obsessed with reading and responding to his readers' correspondence. At the outset this sounds admirable. He later admits that he usually only responded to the women, and more often to the attractive female readers who included photos of themselves in their correspondence. These admissions lead the reader to question whether the interruption of his daily mail carrier was really the cause of his struggles with writer's block. Instead, allow me to suggest that the contents of those deliveries and his obsession with certain female fans might actually have been the root cause.
While I doubt that many of us have had this same exact experience we have all experienced writer's block. Whether we write novels, poetry, short stories or even something more technical or business related each of us has stared at a blank screen or sheet of paper in frustration at some point.
May I suggest that rather than blame arbitrary events and distractions (such as daily mail delivery) for our problems that we should all learn to lead a more balanced life. We cannot afford to become our own creations. Balance is the key to everything. If you write in the mornings then by all means write in the mornings. But do something else in the afternoon and evening. If you write in the afternoons or evening by all means be true to your routine but find something different and more social to do during your mornings.
Despite certain stereotypes not all great writers are antisocial recluses.
I hope that together we can continue to grow as writers and as human beings.
It is essential to find a good healthy balance that will allow each of us to become a better writer every day!
Thanks again for reading and as always...
KEEP WRITING!
No comments:
Post a Comment