I read this post during my lunch a couple of weeks ago, and it reminded me of why I wanted to start posting more regularly on my blog. I want to a place where I can write publicly to try and develop my prose.
One of my favourite ways of to relax is by reading. I enjoy a good book and relish the opportunity to sit in a comfy chair and immerse myself in whatever world the author has crafted—a world they bring to life with their words, but which I bring to life with my imagination. When I approach a book with this understanding, reading transforms from a solo pastime (as many people believe it to be) into a partnership. You become the reading half of a partnership that happens asynchronously with the writer. The writer brings their ideas to life in words, but as the reader, you bring those words to life in your imagination.
When I realised this was the case, writing became something far richer and the type of writing I wanted to create became more meaningful. I realised I didn’t want to write purely to communicate an idea, I wanted to write something that connected with the reader. I wanted my part of the reading partnership to be more enriching for both the reader and writer together. I wanted to learn to write as a craft and to create prose that was enriching to those who read it regardless of the topic.
To me this is what makes a good writer: a person who can communicate an idea, tell a tale, or spin a yarn in such a way that makes reading a joy. They turn ten minutes into two hours without you even realising it. A person who can use words to carry the reader away from the troubles of this world and into a place that lets their imagination run riot.
We live in a world so focused on producing more, doing more, being quicker, and being so productive that the artist gets lost. Writing becomes instructional and functional such that it loses its whimsy or poetic nature. We must communicate what we want in the quickest way possible so that our short attention spans can cope and we don’t move on before the meat of a message is communicated. Of course there is an art to writing in this way, but I fear we are forgetting how to write in the traditional sense of writing. In a way that evokes emotions and engages all our senses. The best stories are the ones that use language to engage more than just our minds. We can smell what the character smells, hear what the character hears, see what they see, and our emotions connect with what they feel. We become part of the story as we turn each page and move from chapter to chapter. That is the kind of writing I wish to create and that is the kind of writing I wish to read.
