Writing?

Writing?

By John W. Vander Velden

 

So what is writing exactly?  The question seems silly.  Writing is simply putting words down on a page.  That would be the easiest definition.  But everyone knows writing is more than that.  An example: House  tree,  dog,  climb,  run,  swim,  colorful,  slowly,  hot,  frozen.  These are words put on the page.  Words that have little connection with one another.  But they are words on the page…written words.  No one would call that string of words writing.

So writing is more than just a set of words, it is a means of communication.  Using words to transmit a concept, to persuade perhaps, or teach, or entertain.  Writing is the careful use of words placed in specific order on a page.  And hopefully with correct grammar.

I believe that anyone can be a writer.  Few would agree with that opinion.  Now I didn’t say that anyone could be a good writer.  That takes talent and a willingness to do great deal of hard work.  But every literate person can write something, and most should. 

The computer has changed writing.  More it has changed who believes they are a good writer.  Word Processors are amazing…and auto correct and spellcheckers are very helpful.  The result is that the number of stories written has increased dramatically.  Overall that is a good thing.  But it overwhelms the process of getting a story in print.  Perhaps that doesn’t matter.  The quantity of stories published has grown some, but not nearly to equal the sea of manuscripts that flow off the fingers of uncountable authors.  The readers have more choices…which is good.  Publishers, for the most part, no longer seek new material directly.  Literary agents have become the link between writers and their outlet.  Yet even literary agents, worth their salt, are overwhelmed by the volume. 

None of this should stop the writer from writing!  And publication has no place in the definition of the word writer.

Writers write because they have a need…to write!  They have a need to tell the kind of stories they tell.  To build something using the bricks called words, using the tools they have.  It’s simple.  A writer is a person who writes…he writes because he needs to write.  Circular logic, I know.

So how do I fit into all of this?  From a very young age I created stories.  Most lived only with in my mind.  A few were told to friends.  And on occasion one or another was written down.  But now it is a passion.  The stories are begging to find their life on the page.  Short stories, essays, and novels ooze ever so slowly out of clumsy fingers across the keyboard.  But I write.  My local newspaper prints one of my shorts nearly each month.  So in my bolder moments I can call myself published.  For five and a half years readers have found weekly additions to my blog.  I have a following…small perhaps but real.

You see I am a writer.  I commit time and money to this craft I use to tell my stories.  Now I must push harder at the next step, to find an outlet for Misty Creek.  One way or another Elizabeth Beck’s story will be told.  One way or another Misty Creek will be published.  I am convinced…but need to do the hard work to see it gets done…

Wish me well…