Just Write!

Tonight I tried to think of something wonderfully creative and imaginative to write about for a hub, but nothing seemed to catch fire. So many days I want to sit down and write what I'm feeling or thinking, but then it seems like a waste of time when there is the laundry or grad school applications to finish. Frankly the real waste of time is the millions of seconds I spend thinking of hubs or stories in my head and don't take the time to just write them down. But why do I even think of spending time working on a craft as a waste of time? Why do I doubt my own thoughts or ideas without giving them a chance? When truly no thought is a waste. If I only took the time to consider the initial thought and mold it 'til it's right. Did Picasso become a visionary artist overnight? Did Charlotte Bronte or Jane Austen write their masterpieces overnight? I should say not! Nor would we, their readers, really want to read initial thoughts. I think what we so often forget is that it takes time to fully complete a masterpiece. Writing is an art. It takes work. Think of it this way: everyone can speak, but we all don't speak well. Just as we all can write but does everyone have the gift to tell a story or capture an audience with their words? So many of us would like to be gifted writers, but before we can reach the top of the mountain, we must first learn how to climb.

So many times I've tried to think of a completely unique idea that no other write has ever written down. I truly don't believe that every story has been written but that's a subject for another hub. I accept that I learn from other writers. Three of my favorite writers are Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte and Anne Frank. They are many others too, but let's focus on these three. Austen and Bronte have many similarities but Austen has lighter and sarcastic style versus Bronte's gothic romance. Frank's journal is her most famous work but she also wrote a few short fictional stories. From these writers I've learned what themes suit their style. Austen understood how relationships with our families and friends shape the individual. There are no solitary characters in her novels. Even Mr. Darcy has his best friend Mr. Bingly and sister Georgiana. Bronte also wrote on relationships but her writing mainly displayed the power of the individual to make choices. Jane denies herself the love of Mr. Rochester because loving him is a sin against her own principles. I don't know if we all have the strength to deny ourselves love. Our own writer's voice shows how we see the world and what affects us. This is particuarly true for Anne Frank. I use to wish that I had similar world events to discuss like she did, but looking back through her verse and my own journals at thirteen, there is not much difference. We both wrote about our friends, sisters, boys, parents, and general questions about the world around us. Anne Frank just happened to be in hiding from the Nazis during World War II, while as I lived in a free and open world except for any restrictions I placed on myself. The point I mean to make is that we can't all live during 'grand' world events but we all still have something to say about the world around us if we seek to 'understand' the world. I can only be grateful that these three women actually wrote what they thought. Not only would they have denied the world some of the finest pieces of literature but to know that they believed in the power of their words alone is inspiration for us all.

I've heard writers say that when they have writer's block it is like their brain is detached from their hand. Of course that may just be an excuse, when an idea that sounds wonderful in their own head but doesn't come out that way on paper. The idea is to remember that writing takes time and patience. Nothing comes out perfect the first time. You also cannot be afraid of your own ideas or what is so- called safe to write. A few of the other occupants in the attic with Anne Frank wanted to burn her diary in case they were ever discovered by the Nazis. Anne did not back down from their threats and kept writing. The three Bronte sisters and Jane Austen wrote novels when women were not suppose to 'work' for money. Well at least not respectable women.

Dreaming of becoming a writer is wonderful but the best advice I ever received and will now pass on to you: writers write! Writers are not philosophers. They don't spend their days 'thinking'; they write! The actual act of writing will be the best practice. As well as the belief in your own power to achieve. Most novels all began with an idea, but that idea is only step one. It's up to you to move beyond step one and write. You never know what may come of it...