Writing
So over the past few months I have been adding entries to this blog as and when I either get the chance to tell you all what I have been up to or feel the need to waffle on about a particular topic. Today is no exception. I am going to waffle on about a particular topic and that topic is writing…
I hope, as you have had a chance to read about my travels, that you find my writing style easy to read. I usually just write what comes into my head and post without even doing a quick spell check. This is normally due to time constraints with internet cafes but also due in no uncertain terms to me being a lazy bugger too.
The more time you spend writing, the more you tend to look at what you write. It is easy to be critical of your own work and even more so when it comes to writing. For some, every word matters. Every punctuation mark must be in the perfect spot, grammatically correct of course but perfect in its own sense, creative perhaps and fresh.
I am new to writing, I talk a fair amount but I also listen well too. I like to be heard and to express my views and opinions. Don’t we all? Writing allows you to do that in a special way. You can take your time and you have no-one answering you back. For many writers I imagine this to be the perfect form of expression, especially for the more introverted writers.
Writing can be many things. It can be expressive, therapueutic, imaginative, creative, selfish, thoughtful, frustrating, energizing, the list goes on and on. The point is that unless we are published (I use the term “we” very generally), then we do not feel like we can call ourselves writers.
Some may disagree and you are welcome to do so, however, I feel that I need a publishing credit to be “labelled” a writer. I guess I would feel more like a writer if I had publishing credits to my name. Now, when I say published I do not mean have a best seller and be on the Booker Prize list, I mean published anywhere in print or even online.
The more I write and the more I travel, the more people I meet who are writers. They may not even know it yet, but they are. You only have to look at the proliferation of web logs currently taking up space on the intertnet to see how many people love to write. After all, it is only a form of communication, our primary non-verbal form and it is here to stay.
So when someone next asks you what you do for a living, you may, in all seriousness, say that you are a writer. Label it how you will, I do not care much for labels these days, we are all writers. It’s just that some of us wish to be formally recognized for it :0).
Tags: Hong Kong
