The marriage of writing.

[j p gilbert]

They say writing is an art - a skill, which can be improved with practice. Like most things, one could improve ones abilities and produce great pieces of work. Oh, how I long for the sweet spot where the words flow, where the story writes itself, where hours fly by on a breeze of wind.

Yet, the technical craft, all to often, gets in the way. The un-published plot notes, the character development or even the hash and abrupt scene list strips away the glorious to its bare bones.

Hand in hand both demand a measure of time. It is true, for me, one is more enjoyable than the other. Although, I surrender, is unable to survive without it.

The marriage of ideas and thoughts with purposeful words to convey feelings and invoke emotions, has no second. For it is the achievement of our ancestors to purse the desire to communicate which has led us here, to this point. To talk. To tell. To write.

I would say to them, their struggles with the pen was worth it. I would say to them, that all their works are great. From nothing they created something which is of nothing - the inspiration to follow in their footsteps and to embrace the marriage with all its burdens. I am, but only a newlywed.

[DarkestbeforeDawn]

I'm not really sure how to respond to this, but I think you should maybe submit this as a poem or some short work of fiction of the like. The prose and content matter has a poetic flair. Maybe you can get somewhere with something like this.

[EvanCorneille1234]

I like it. It reminds me of Margaret Atwood's "Happy Endings" - it isn't the beginning or the end of a story, but the meat in the middle that defines a good book. Keeping on track with writing is a part of developing your life, which develops great writing!

[P_hernandez]

I feel like writing is both the bane of my existence as well as the reason I get up in the morning. I am constantly tormented by the inner thoughts of characters who haven't yet been developed. Finding the discipline to actually sit down and dedicate the time to getting the thoughts out and organizing them in such a way that another person might be able to make a cohesive connection between themselves and what I'm trying to communicate is the most difficult thing for me to do.

I agree that the technical parts get in the way. I sometimes feel like Im my own worst enemy on this path. Your poetic words, however, are very inspirational. I especially like that last bit about being a newlywed.

[moderntimes]

j p is eloquent and obviously a skilled writer. I don't think jp faces any great challenges. But let me comment...

Writing is two things: an innate talent plus a honed skill.

Let's face it -- to be a good writer, you've got to be fairly sharp. But you already know this. You have to love literature or you'll never be a writer. You also need innate smarts so that you've learned good reading and writing mechanics, such as proper grammar and spelling. These are the building blocks of writing. Unless you've got the proper knowledge of the necessaries, you'll not succeed.

But then, you must develop that skill set by constant work. This begins by reading lots and lots of the top books in literature, especially the genre you plan to write in. But regardless of genre, Hemingway and Faulker, plus some other greats, are essential for English language writing. We learn from the master.

If for example you're inclined to write a supernatural thriller, Stevie King is required study. Learn how he sets horror amidst a normal, everyday American landscape. He's the best at this -- describing ordinary folks, no Sherlocks, no Superheros, but regular people confronted by evil. And so on.

Then, using the knowledge you've gained, start writing. If it's a novel, you need a general outline, not necessarily a formal chapter by chapter outline but at least some general themes to work on, principal characters, and a plot that's at least a reasonable expectation of where the story may go -- this can change and believe me, it does. But you still need a framework to start with. And of course you need to research your background material. If you're writing a modern crime novel, you probably need to know firearms quite well, or if you're writing a novel in which your major character is an architect, you obviously must have a solid knowledge of the profession. And so on.

A short story is a little easier to get going on, since it requires less research. But just because a story is shorter than a novel, this doesn't make it easier. Short stories are a unique literary achievement and equal in challenge to a novel, just different.

What is essential is that you start.