I've never felt very comfortable writing this blog because most writing blogs dispense advice. Honestly, I don't know enough about writing to give advice on it. I've been writing for only a few years and even though I think I'm serious about writing, I'm not. I'm not a serious writer. I haven't reached that point yet. I'm just a serious dreamer. I dabble into writing and I'm still learning basic grammar.
Instead of using writing as a form of escapism, I read. Writing is just my attempt to make something of myself. I love words. I love characters and adventures and feeling something. A lot of people complain that we shouldn't have to take English all four years of high school, but I disagree. We aren't just learning about old dead stories that no one cares about or nit picky grammar rules that no one knows. English language is more than that. It's about art and feelings and facts and everything in the world put down in words. The books we study aren't pointless (but I'll disagree while reading them because I'm one of those kids who don't like classics) because they show us what it means to be human. Romeo and Juliet? Very stupid in my opinion. But the two star-crossed lovers (I hate that phrase) show us how stupid humans act when they're in love. (or as I like to say, infatuated) Humans make mistakes. We are flawed. Stories reflect that.
The thing is, once you learn how to words, you can do almost anything with them. Lawyers defend and manipulate people with words. Journalists inform people with their words. Author's create whole other worlds with these words, which is also a form of manipulation.
A lot of people complain about having to take English every single year of high school, myself included, because we forget or don't realize how important words are. After spending a week complaining about all the pointless English homework my teacher assigns, it's hard to remember why we learn this stuff. Sometimes you have to remind yourself why words and stories are important.
Hi there! First off, I think that you're selling yourself short. From what I can see, yes, you're a serious writer even if you may have a lot to learn about writing. If you're a serious dreamer and your dreams are of writing... and you're doing SOMETHING to put those dreams into practice and not leaving them as pie in the sky, then you're a serious writer. In my humble opinion.
ReplyDeleteAnd don't feel as if your love of reading is something that takes away from your writer-ness. It's a huge asset for any writer, and that passion for reading is something that I think I let partly slip away several years ago, letting myself get too busy to open a book and read. Slowly I'm cultivating it up again. ;)
I'm looking for some ninja writers to interview for my Ninja spotlight series. If you're interested, go to http://kelworthfiles.wordpress.com/2012/05/16/im-looking-for-a-few-good-ninjas/ to find out more!