What is there to write about?
I finally wrote something for the Op-Ed pages in the Sunday Times last week. Finally. The editor has been encouraging me to write something for her for the past six months. I thought what better occassion to start than on my 30th birthday? And I wrote about what else? Turning 30 of course. My fear was to write something boring and lengthy and self-absorbed. I opted to sprinkle in some observation and a statistic. Hey all good writing should be balanced with facts and observations on real life.
I'm kind proud of my writing, and I hope to do more.
I suppose the worse thing one could do, if one is a writer, is to stop writing.
It's like David Duchovny's character, Hank Moody in the TV drama Californification. Moody always gets a nagging from his ex-wife and lover because he seldom writes anymore. He spends most of his time complaining about the world.
Yikes. A writer needs to keep on writing, people say. Or as Moody's ex-wife keeps saying in Californication: "Keep writing. That's what you have been brought into this world for."
But such advice goes unheeded, of course.
Moody would rather screw every woman in sight and complain about the unfaithful depiction of his his novel which was adapted into a feel-good movie starring Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes. (I kid you not. Watch the show).
My point is whatever sadness or discouragement you feel, it is always best to keep at what you are doing. Of course there comes a time when you may realise it is all fruitless and that maybe you should give up and do something else. Yes, in some cases it is better to stop and focus your energy on something new.
But there are things that are worth holding on to. And if you have it now, then hold on to it.
What I mean is, if you want to do something and you feel that it's your calling, then go for it. Don't accept defeat.
Boy, all this sounds fantastically motivating, but it's a whole different thing when I wake up to go to work tomorrow. It's different when you're writing about it, than when you try to practice it.
But we gotta hold on to something, y'know?
Comments
I find your entry about holding on to something very interesting. It's good that you are doing something that you are talented in. It's also good to know that what you do puts bread on the table. Not many people I know are doing the things that they are "gifted" to do. You are one of the lucky ones.
However, it's not just what you do that counts. It's why you do it. Are you doing it for the right reasons? You have to ask yourself these questions:
"Why am I writing?"
"What am I writing?"
"Who am I writing for?"
What exactly do you hope to do with your writing? You have been given the power to change things. Are you using that power? Or are you just living day by day just grateful that you doing something you are good at and getting paid in the process. What have you accomplished through your writings? Do you feel good about yourself that you have written something? Is that something benefiting your community?
In the US, the mainstream media and all the so-called 'reporters' and 'writer' are just 'workers' and 'slaves' who serve their bosses (who serve other bosses and so on), get the paycheck and benefits, probably a good retirement plan, home and car loans etc. But they are actually accomplices and accessory to the biggest lies in human history. They may know it but don't care or they may not know it.
A sample would be in this video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDHNNtyjfts
Will you care if you know that what you are writing causes great pain and sorrow and harm to other people?
I've never actually read much of your articles, most of them are entries in this blog, but I do hope that you are one of the few good guys.
Are you doing things just for your own sake or are you doing it for the greater good?