Random thoughts on writing
It may come as a surprise to some, but I’m not particularly fond of writing. At least, of many of the traditional types of writing. Let me explain.
I’ve written many, many essays and research papers. They are what’s known as hard work. And, in fact, I write them rather slowly. While many of my classmates back in graduate school could whip out a page in 15 minutes, I took about an hour per page. I agonized over every turn of phrase, too. So, the typical 10-page research paper took 10 hours at the computer keyboard. (This didn’t include minutiae such as the actual research that took place before the commencement of writing.)
With regard to fiction, however, I haven’t ever really done it. Seems kind of odd for someone who reads as much fiction as I do, who hangs out at author’s websites, and reads what advice they have to offer on the subject. But as much as I like to learn about writing fiction, I’ve never felt motivated to do it for myself. In fact, I’ve never gotten the hang of combining ideas into an actual plot. I’ve only written one piece of fiction (long lost) in my life, and that was when, as a young kid I transcribed the events of a dream I had.
Where I find I do like to compose is in a conversational format which is facilitated by the internet. Although I hated writing traditional letters, making forum or newsgroup posts and authoring this blog are very nice outlets for me.
So, what does this say about me?
Haven’t the faintest.
