I often think about my writing influences,
including my dad, books that I’ve read, and the world around me. I have so many good models to keep me on the
right path. Authors should never lose
touch with what inspires, informs, and nourishes their writings.
One of my earliest influences was reading Dr. Seuss and Curious George
books. They both put the mind on
adventure mode and instill in us a questioning, curious way of seeing life that
carries into one’s writings and creative thought process.
I also reflect on great books that I
consumed many decades ago and still ignite something within me. including Crime & Punishment, The Invisible Man,
1984, Lord of the Flies, and Hamlet.
The Socratic dialogues also help me to be
a better writer, as did reading the columns of gritty tabloid journeymen
columnists Jimmy Breslin, Dick Young, Mike Lupica, and Pete Hamill.
To be a great writer also means to be a
great reader – to be informed of life and to be cognizant of various writing
styles and techniques. To be a strong
writer one must also think a lot, perhaps many more hours than living out real
experiences to help shape the world one wants to envision and lobby for. The biggest danger to being a great writer
might be to have too much of a good life, where you spend too much time doing
and enjoying, not enough thinking or suffering.
I don’t mean to suggest one can’t live a
full, happy, and rewarding life – and be a great writer – because that wouldn’t
be true. Nor would it be accurate to say
a writer must suffer something tragic or truly terrible in order to understand
pain, loss, frustration, anger, or disappointment. A writer simply cannot find the right balance
of living and observing, experiencing and writing –unless he or she both does
something with their life and takes the time to reflect, feel deeply, analyze,
and imagine something better, different, and more satisfying.
If one wants to get the mechanics of
writing down, he reads something like Writer’s
Digest. If he wants to be a more
informed writer he consumes books like almanacs and dictionaries, and eats up
news media reports. But if he wants to
be a talented writer who can move others with mere words, he’ll need to live a
little, feel a little, and appreciate the world for both what it is and what it
could be.
Great writing can’t speak to everyone, for
it must appeal to a specific group and their needs, experiences, and
understanding of things. Book sales,
awards, and the news media have proven this to be true. Unanimous consent for a book amongst the
literati is nearly impossible – and most assuredly so for a diverse world of consumers and their varying experiences, desires, needs, education, abilities, and resources.
There’s no one set formula for great
writing. There may be widespread
agreement for certain elements of writing – but superior wordsmithing comes
from a variety of sources. Everyone
needs to find their proper ration of books, experiences, and alone time that
feeds their writing.
How will you make your writing better – more influential, more powerful, more truthful? How will you find the best word combination to transform a reader into your world? What could you say or do that will allow for your writing to mean something to more people?
How will you make your writing better – more influential, more powerful, more truthful? How will you find the best word combination to transform a reader into your world? What could you say or do that will allow for your writing to mean something to more people?
Each writer finds his or her way, at their
own pace, in their own manner. The good
news is there are many people, places, books, media, and quiet hours for us to
learn from. The world, with all of its
glory and imperfections, serves as your laboratory. Mix the right elements together and you may
just create something so powerful and original that your work will inspire
other writers.
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