Saved by Alex Dobrenko
But all of them are vulnerable and all of them are tense. They are driven by a compulsion to put some part of themselves on paper, and yet they don’t just write what comes naturally. They sit down to commit an act of literature, and the self who emerges on paper is far stiffer than the person who sat down to write. The problem is to find the real m
... See moreWilliam Zinsser • On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction
I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.
Joan Didion • Let Me Tell You What I Mean
When I thought about why I write, I came up with many reasons. I do it because it is how I make sense of the world. I do it because it makes me feel connected in a profound way. I do it because it feels good. But perhaps most significantly, I am a better, more awake version of myself for having written. I feel recharged, and I have more patience, c
... See moreBeth Kempton • The Way of the Fearless Writer: Mindful Wisdom for a Flourishing Writing Life
This is what I was missing so far about writing in its most personal and unstructured form: that it is a conduit for the self that exists beyond the fold, where identity is more nebulous. It is the act of externalising thoughts and feelings that might otherwise remain tangled and hidden within the depths of my psyche. It is, to quote Ralph Waldo Em... See more
writing as a conduit
learning how to write was very much like learning how to live: it all begins by listening to your inner voice and honoring it.
Living is as much a craft as is writing. There are rules and frameworks one can follow, but ultimately, one must define and cultivate one’s own style.
Living is as much a craft as is writing. There are rules and frameworks one can follow, but ultimately, one must define and cultivate one’s own style.