how to be a better writer

words are special.

words are precious.

words are magical.

words have the ability to lift a person, to inspire a great idea, to reveal and to hide.

it is no secret that i love to write. writing is my life. i do not think i will ever stop writing.

anybody can write, and any person can be a wordsmith. and as someone once told me, ‘writing is not a talent, it is a skill’.

like all skills, writing can be honed, it can be improved, it can evolve.

but being a writer is not enough. to me at least. i say that because i want to be a good writer, a better writer, a magnificent writer. i want to be remembered for my writing. i want my writing to inspire, to impact and to uplift others.

my writing however, is nowhere near excellent and nowhere near the stuff of legends. i do not think it’s a bitter pill to swallow. i admit that i have a long way to go. good writers must understand that writing is never about feeding one’s ego, it’s not about seeing your name in print.

i used to be that sort of writer. a writer who relishes seeing her bylines up in various publications. there is no harm in that of course. it is not wrong to be satisfied.  but in all that satisfaction, there needs to be a constant awareness that in writing, the ceiling of perfection is sky high. what you think might be good, others might see it as crap. of course you have to consider who’s your audience as well. then there’s the ‘voice’ and the ‘emotive’ factor. does your writing move people, does it inform, does it enrich. when people read your writing, do they feel like they’ve taken something from it?

some think that writing is simply just w-r-i-t-i-n-g. the placement of linear letters and punctuations on a medium (paper or in today’s age, computer screens). some do it just to pay the bills. others do it because they are bored. everyone has their reasons. i write because i am passionate about words, about the weight a string of sentence holds. i write because i want to not because i have to. and i strive to be a better writer.

good writers read ferociously. great writers don’t just read, they sleep with their books. they breathe books and words and the meaning behind the words.

while searching for writing tips, i came across these points by Jennifer Jeffrey, a writer and editor: 

1. Write every day. You don’t have to show it to the world, but you absolutely must do it. Writers write, and that’s all there is to it.

2. Read every day. Read chocolate labels, read magazines, read short stories. Read the New York Times. Read the novels on the Booker nominated list. Read the books on the Pulitzer nominated list. Read, notice, pay attention. The more good stuff you read, the better your writing will become.

3. Edit yourself. Train yourself to slice out 25-50% of the witty, clever, insightful words and sentences that you labored for hours to string together. Cut, pillage. Be ruthless.

darn right she was. it’s common sense really, but sometimes you need to be reminded of the obvious.

and the obvious thing is to never forget to do these three important steps.

writers must never be complacent, and never think that they don’t need practice. i know i am guilty of thinking that sometimes. but as this new year unravels itself, i will make sure i write more, and write often and write voraciously.

i am always used to carrying around a notebook wherever i go and i will make sure this year, i continue to do that and remember to write in it. i have a really nice purple notepad holder that’s a nice size (pictured above). it was a gift from a friend and that is going to be my sponge. it’s refillable so that’s a bonus.

and i will use this space to air my writings. yes, i think that’s a good plan.

onwards 2009

and away i write,

passionately.