The Rigour of Writing

So after a very busy day I finally have the opportunity to sit down and write. This is a habit I want to get into -- setting aside a period of time every Tuesday to write a blog entry and practice my craft, while offering something to the world to take in and think about.

But you know, the lives we lead sometimes get in the way of doing what we want to do. And the necessity to do the things we need to do occasionally leaves little time for anything else. As a writer it's often difficult to balance the emotional and spiritual need to write with the physical necessity to work, shop, wash clothes, throw out garbage, clean your room, etc. etc. of everyday life. Writing is like breathing for me -- it sustains and without it I could suffocate.

So I wanted to tell you about the times when I look to a blank pad of paper armed with nothing but a pen and my tortured, twisted, and oddly humourous experiences to guide me through the process. The poetry and prose that appears when I set down the stylo on the sheet or shut down the computer screen takes a teeny part of me every time and puts it on public display, the effects of which are no longer in my control once the first person attempts to grasp its meaning by reading what I've scribed for posterity.

There is little else in the world in terms of personal expression that I'd prefer to do than write my thoughts, dreams, fears and lessons learned so that they can be shared with others. I don't think my experiences are any more profound or special than anyone else's, but I do think that very few people can put it down into words the way I can, without fear of what others will say. Writing such emotionally charged work is the riskiest thing I do, and I continue to do it because I need to write to stay sane, to feel part of something, to contribute broadly to the human experiment -- to be.

So I have to exercise that need every once in a while. And so I have decided to do so on a weekly basis for my own therapeutic reasons and so that my mind can get a proper workout. Muscles unused tend to atrophy, and an atrophied brain is a tragedy.

I'll be back next week, with more energy and fire and passion to spit out for you.

PS My article from last week's City Journal is on the net now ... read it here!