writing...

I found a couple of interesting pieces on writing, and since I know that at least one good friend is interested in writing, I decided to share them. I found the first one in “The Sun”, Sept 2005 issue, and it appears in the back on p47. The author is Sy Safransky:

“In college I was a political-science major who never took a creative-writing class. I went to graduate school to study journalism not because I wanted to be a writer but because I wanted to change the world. I didn’t even start to write poetry or keep a journal until I was in my midtwenties. That’s when I saw the earth breathe, and discovered that everything was alive, and realized that if I wanted to report the biggest story of all – to describe not just the facts but the truth – I’d need to learn how to use a living, breathing language. Even after all these years, though, I’m hardly confident of my craft. And let’s face it: my inner critic is not my biggest fan. Each time I start a new essay, I have to remind myself I don’t write an essay by writing an essay. I write by putting down sentence after sentence, good sentences and bad sentences, handsome sentences and homely sentences. If the words are alive, my paragraphs don’t need to show up wearing expensive suits and ties of Italian silk. Sometimes it helps to remember the poet William Stafford’s advice: “If you don’t like what you’re writing, lower your standards.”

I found the other piece I wanted to share in my notebook “We’Moon ’06: In the spirit of love”, but the original source is Amma, Messages from Amma:

“It’s the amount of love, of heart,
you pour into your work
that determines how beautiful
and meaningful it will be.”

Peace and health to you in the New Year!!!