I'd learn a lot more if I didn't forget so much.......
Insecure Writer's Support Group
Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group--a forum of writers who gather to talk about writing and the writer's life. For a complete list of participants visit Alex's Blog.
Question for July:
What is one valuable lesson you've learned since you started writing?
Through the years I've taken writing related classes, read many writings about writing, and involved myself in other educational and recreational realms about the art of writing. Somehow writing seemed to be in my blood from my earliest memories. I've enjoyed reading since I was a young child and was motivated to write by reading. And if movies count, then I've watched plenty to get some kind of an influence from those. Life itself is an education for many subjects and in some sense we are always in school though the classrooms might be a bit different than what we normally think of in respect to classrooms.
A brain is like a sponge. We absorb everything around us and within the realm of our own thoughts and reasoning. In life we learn a lot of stuff, but it's mostly an amassing of subtleties that are in turn processed according to our life experiences and interests.
One valuable lesson learned? Where does one start? So many lessons have been vital to me in my writing endeavors that it would be difficult to single out what is most important to me. In fact I'd dare say that the most important lessons are those integral aspects of writing that I now take for granted and can't particularly name.
However, let me go to one thing that has been weighing upon me over the recent months (or is it years?). We live in an age of extreme sensitivity to differing opinions. There is so much divisiveness in our society that being genuine and expressing oneself openly can work to ones detriment both from a social standpoint as well as being commercially viable. I'm seeing this in my blog writing. I enjoy expressing my opinions and generating discussion. Sadly, disagreement is rarely met with tactful intelligent response to the point where a sensible discussion can ensue and dissenting parties can be open to learning and understanding each other. Being on the "other side" can get ugly in many cases.
Some of my blog readers have asked me my opinion on certain issues, but I believe that they, knowing my stance on other issues, are essentially baiting me into an uncomfortable situation where they can attempt to discredit my opinion because they think they are the ones with the right answers. I happen to think that in a good many instances both sides bear truth and those things perceived as falsehoods are merely different ways of looking at something.
Most of my writing does reflect my beliefs (political, spiritual, or what have you) and I don't think I am much different than a good many of those who write. Though I try not to be preachy or overbearing in my writing, there is almost always a message that I'm trying to convey. I like stories, but I like enlightenment as well. My favorite books, stories, and movies have all had that quality to them. Escape is fun, but enrichment can carry far greater rewards in the long run.
More than ever before, we seem to be in a time when an opinion can label a writer as a pop star or a pariah. Writers fall into niches, as perhaps they always have to a certain extent, but never as noticeable as it is now. Categories and subcategories run rampant and if you toss in a writer with an opinion that others don't like, that writer can face consequences.
It's not something I'm going to worry about much. I'll write what I want to write and believe what I want to believe. Look for it here at Tossing It Out. I might offend more visitors to my site in months to come, but I must write what is in my heart and on my mind. That's life--especially in this crazy social media age where little absurd things can rile people as much as big deep ideas. It doesn't matter really. That is until the question of marketability enters the picture. Then I guess we have to accept that we are all jerks to some people while others will cheer us on.
Is this a lesson learned? I think so. And it's one that I'm still learning about and trying to contend with.
Do you avoid reading about "issues"? Would you rather be challenged to think about what you are reading or do you just prefer to escape? Are you somewhat afraid to express your opinions about major issues for fear that you will make others angry with you?
