Ten people talking, coffee machines buzzing and spraying, and music louder than it all. People pay $5 to sit here in the coffee shop to work, talk, or just surf the Internet. To top it off, I'm sitting in what feels like an island when I normally sit near a wall or window. I thought the people walking by, stopping for coffee, and sitting behind me would drive me to self-consciousness.
Just yesterday I thought I'd write a poem or essay on the beauty of quiet, and at the moment I find myself thinking of why this loud busyness is starting to win me over like it does every time I come here.
It wins me over because I love the thought of being in the middle of various conversations. I can't hear the exact words, but it's just fun that people are here enjoying a weekday night with a friend or alone deep in thought. I love how God can make even clamor beautiful and useful to us.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
A Couple Books
I thought I'd update you on what I've been reading and how it relates to my thoughts on writing.
Right now I'm reading Wayfaring by Alan Jacobs. When I read the introduction, it felt like I was in a college English class again. For me, that's a good thing—as long as there's no homework, of course. Good English classes explore important, deep questions through story. I'm also looking forward to this book because I've heard that Jacobs is a deep thinker and has a good understanding and interest in faith.
Last week I read Permission to Speak Freely by Anne Jackson. I thought it would help me to feel more open to writing in an informal style or in the way I would normally speak. It did indirectly help with that. The book was not about writing but was mostly about Anne's life and her wanting people to know about God's acceptance and how we should accept and love others. She had a wonderful point: that no one is without a secret—that everyone is the same when it comes to currently having or having had experienced something painful in one's life. It's a good message to a culture that seems to want to run from pain. Pain is real and a part of life, and it's Christ and love for him and others that helps us through it, no matter who we are. That can relate to writing informally too, because people just want to be known and know they're not alone. Writing too formally often reminds me of someone wanting to appear above others or not wanting anyone to know the person behind the writing. I know that’s not the intent, but I don’t want to write in that way—at least not when I’m writing for fun.
Right now I'm reading Wayfaring by Alan Jacobs. When I read the introduction, it felt like I was in a college English class again. For me, that's a good thing—as long as there's no homework, of course. Good English classes explore important, deep questions through story. I'm also looking forward to this book because I've heard that Jacobs is a deep thinker and has a good understanding and interest in faith.
Last week I read Permission to Speak Freely by Anne Jackson. I thought it would help me to feel more open to writing in an informal style or in the way I would normally speak. It did indirectly help with that. The book was not about writing but was mostly about Anne's life and her wanting people to know about God's acceptance and how we should accept and love others. She had a wonderful point: that no one is without a secret—that everyone is the same when it comes to currently having or having had experienced something painful in one's life. It's a good message to a culture that seems to want to run from pain. Pain is real and a part of life, and it's Christ and love for him and others that helps us through it, no matter who we are. That can relate to writing informally too, because people just want to be known and know they're not alone. Writing too formally often reminds me of someone wanting to appear above others or not wanting anyone to know the person behind the writing. I know that’s not the intent, but I don’t want to write in that way—at least not when I’m writing for fun.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Why Write?
I'm thinking through the value of writing. Motivation in writing for most people—and I'll admit a past one of mine—was money and fame. At some point I started to think that it's not worth writing if you're not an expert. Why should people read? To learn, I'd answer. And you learn from experts. But I'm thinking through this. There's at least a joy in writing and a helpfulness to others in writing as a non-expert.
One English professor in college said the value in writing was to write information in a new way. Bring old information to today's readers in a way that they like to read it, or new information to understand better what’s current. I like this description but it hasn’t been very motivating to me. The reason is that I still read authors like Dickens and Dostoevsky, authors who wrote in the 1800s that are worth reading in their older style and world. I also wonder how new a lot of what we experience is. It seems like humanity struggles and rejoices in the same type of things since the beginning of history.
My guess is that a value in writing as a non-expert is that there is beauty in writing. Something about it that makes the writer and reader think in a different, better way. Something that points to something beautiful. Something that helps people who wouldn't have a chance otherwise to grow. A gift and showing of love to others you haven't met.
Some evidence that this might be true comes in a recent CT article about my favorite band, Owl City. The article quotes Adam Young as saying about his motivation to write and sing: "I started writing for myself, wanting to create the kind of music I always wished I could walk into a record store and find on the shelf."
He’s attained that goal and his music is an example to me of what is more quality art in writing. Adam's music is different in a good way. Instead of lyrics and music focusing on break-ups, which is what I hear mostly on the radio these days, it's all about imagination, interesting things in life, and humor. I'd love to bring that to writing in some way too. I know it most likely won’t be as good or successful as Adam's, but I'm not in it for the success or to see how good I am. I'm more interested in finding joy in expressing a gift I've been given--the joy I see in some dancers on So You Think You Can Dance when they experience for themselves the freeing aspect of dance and share their gift with everyone watching.
I know that my writing style/motivation may simply just be the result of reading and thinking about issues, and then thinking of interesting ways to share ways I've grown and learned—to rejoice in how God gives us such a capacity to continue to learn and grow for years and years, no matter how much we learn.
That seems fitting and relaxing to me. One reason is that everything should be for God's glory. Another reason is that I feel like if God gives you a gift, it's very rewarding and good to grow in that gift. Writing simply will help me grow in writing. Also, at work, when I've been given a writing assignment a deadline is always looming over my head, and I feel the pressure of needing to be perfect or like my writing will be chopped and moved around because an editor has a different style of writing they prefer over mine.
This is a place to write in my free time and to not worry about those pressures. Maybe if I write here for a while, then when I do write for work, I’ll be so used to writing that I won’t think about the pressures. I also like the thought of possibly sharing my experiences and thoughts with others for their benefit too. I wouldn't mind if people wanted to tell me their experiences and thoughts too. Feel free to if you happen to stumble upon this blog, and have any thoughts on the merits of writing as a non-expert.
One English professor in college said the value in writing was to write information in a new way. Bring old information to today's readers in a way that they like to read it, or new information to understand better what’s current. I like this description but it hasn’t been very motivating to me. The reason is that I still read authors like Dickens and Dostoevsky, authors who wrote in the 1800s that are worth reading in their older style and world. I also wonder how new a lot of what we experience is. It seems like humanity struggles and rejoices in the same type of things since the beginning of history.
My guess is that a value in writing as a non-expert is that there is beauty in writing. Something about it that makes the writer and reader think in a different, better way. Something that points to something beautiful. Something that helps people who wouldn't have a chance otherwise to grow. A gift and showing of love to others you haven't met.
Some evidence that this might be true comes in a recent CT article about my favorite band, Owl City. The article quotes Adam Young as saying about his motivation to write and sing: "I started writing for myself, wanting to create the kind of music I always wished I could walk into a record store and find on the shelf."
He’s attained that goal and his music is an example to me of what is more quality art in writing. Adam's music is different in a good way. Instead of lyrics and music focusing on break-ups, which is what I hear mostly on the radio these days, it's all about imagination, interesting things in life, and humor. I'd love to bring that to writing in some way too. I know it most likely won’t be as good or successful as Adam's, but I'm not in it for the success or to see how good I am. I'm more interested in finding joy in expressing a gift I've been given--the joy I see in some dancers on So You Think You Can Dance when they experience for themselves the freeing aspect of dance and share their gift with everyone watching.
I know that my writing style/motivation may simply just be the result of reading and thinking about issues, and then thinking of interesting ways to share ways I've grown and learned—to rejoice in how God gives us such a capacity to continue to learn and grow for years and years, no matter how much we learn.
That seems fitting and relaxing to me. One reason is that everything should be for God's glory. Another reason is that I feel like if God gives you a gift, it's very rewarding and good to grow in that gift. Writing simply will help me grow in writing. Also, at work, when I've been given a writing assignment a deadline is always looming over my head, and I feel the pressure of needing to be perfect or like my writing will be chopped and moved around because an editor has a different style of writing they prefer over mine.
This is a place to write in my free time and to not worry about those pressures. Maybe if I write here for a while, then when I do write for work, I’ll be so used to writing that I won’t think about the pressures. I also like the thought of possibly sharing my experiences and thoughts with others for their benefit too. I wouldn't mind if people wanted to tell me their experiences and thoughts too. Feel free to if you happen to stumble upon this blog, and have any thoughts on the merits of writing as a non-expert.
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