On writing (well)
Writing is easy.
Writing long (or, if you prefer, “a lot”) is easy.
Writing well is difficult.
Writing well “short” is really difficult.
Even though I find the process of writing both short and well at the same time to be difficult, it is ultimately enjoyable.
Finding guides and/or encouragement in persevering through to good, clean, compact writing is a proverbial “good thing”. Here are a few links that can help…
Marvin Olasky published two columns at WORLD Magazine, on May 10, 2003 & April 10, 2004, that deal quite nicely with the larger issues related to good writing.
In a slightly longer form, author John Scalzi has written an outstanding piece on this subject over at his blog — Writing Tips for Non-Writers Who Don’t Want to Work at Writing. Good, solid, insightful, common-sense tips. Just what any, and every, writer needs to read, learn, and inwardly digest. [HT: WWdN]
Worth the time to check out…
-ghp
Profundities
I’d like to think that I’m chock full of profundities. You know, little gems of thought & common sense that will amaze and astound you such that you’ll not only regularly read my blog, but that you’ll also pass them along so that more & more folks can bask in the shared glow of my entertaining wisdom.
Alas and alack, such is not the case.
I’m neither as profound, nor as entertaining as I want to be. Not in your estimation, and certainly not in my own.
I’ll try to work on it, however, so that I’m at least reasonably entertaining enough to warrant a few of your thought cycles every day or three. And I figure that the best way to be a worthy read is to be interested in what I’m writing. As long as I’m happy with, and interested in, what I write, then that’s enough for me. I have enough things making me crazy in day-to-day life, that I don’t need to load a worry about pleasing/catering to my “audience” on top of it all. That’s not to belittle y’all — ’cause I’m grateful for all y’all’s visits — but rather a check on myself & my own delusions of adequacy (someday I hope to have delusions of grandeur!). I’m really not as snarky as I sometimes come off as being on this blog (close, but not quite) — it’s just that it’s most times easier to write that way and, I think, a little more entertaining to read. Sort of like the difference between reading TV Guide and a “real” book. It’s easier to blast out a few posts that have a kernel of substance amidst the snark than it is to constantly try to put out deep/profound/meaningful posts. I will still (try to) put out the “significant” stuff every so often, but I just don’t think I can (or want) to do that exclusively — taking myself that seriously is not, I think, a good & beneficial thing…
So, I’m hoping that writing will start to come a little easier now that the double-edged sword that is American Idol (aka AI:6) is about to grace/plague us with its presence once again. I know full well that it’s not really all that significant in the “big picture”, as it’s really just a piece of superficial pop-culture fluff, but it’s an interesting piece of fluff. Realitytv isn’t gonna save the world, but it doesn’t have to; rather, it can help keep us entertained. The same is true of discussing it & writing about it.
That’s my story, and I’m sticking with it… 
-ghp
Yet more proof that words…
Because we’re stupid sheep (and I mean that in the best sense of the word…), we need to constantly be reminded of simple things & concepts.
Stuff like this: Words have meaning and power.
I love words. Big, fancy words. Small, simple words. Refined words. Coarse words. Theological words. Pop-culture words. Sincere words. Snarky words. Profound words. Superficial words. You know… words! And, even though writing is often difficult, it is always enjoyable and even, in those all-too-rare instances, sublimely intoxicating & rewarding. That love of words & writing is a major reason why I so enjoy blogging. But I, as I am wont to do, digress…
It’s always good to be reminded of both the beauty of words, and of the companion struggle to use them properly & effectively. In light of this, I would commend to you the following two posts & two (recently new to me) blogs as effective reminders:
- Post #1: The Stuff You Write Isn’t Even In English, by Frank at Putting out the Fire.
- Post #2: The Right Word, by the always erudite Rev. Peterson at Cyberstones.
- Blog #1: House, M.Div. - Caustic, truthful, on-point, and above all Lutheran.
- Blog #2: Extreme Theology - Just fabulous…
-ghp
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