Death and Relations Can be Painful

Resist the Urge to Write Like Everyone Else

I am not a writer, not in the sense of a writer like Robert Frost who wrote poems that always took my breath away.  Nor am I a writer like Richard Wright, who made see and feel his pain in slave driven society.  I can only wish to ever write like James Baldwin, and write a book like the “The Fire Next Time.”

But believe me, I am a writer.  I have mastered the art of putting my thoughts on paper, and have even managed to write a few papers, stories, poems, and articles that have brought tears to the eyes of a few.  Yet, I keep feeling inadequate and unworthy to call myself an author or a writer because I haven’t yet measured up to some of the greats that have set the standards for writing over the centuries.

I pondered this question most of the day as I worked on budgets, and speeches, and painting and a dozen other things that had to get done, and finally around 6:23pm, it hit me.  I don’t feel like an author or a writer because I want to write like everybody else.  I want to write a best seller like Sidney Sheldon, Robert Ludlum, and a host of others that have influenced me over the years.  But that is not what I write or how I write.

I write to empty my head; to offer advice; to clarify a feeling; or, to state an opinion; or even to poke fun at myself.  How I do this is not in a book and cannot be gleaned from someone else.  Of course, the grammar should be good, the spelling checked, and for the most part in good taste if put out there for others to read.  The words are mine and when they run out of my mind, they don’t usually ask “Is this how Maya Angelou would write this poem?”  Instead, my mind usually wants to know if I am finished, did you say what you wanted to say like you wanted to say it.

When you write you, your feelings and emotions will show.  Sometimes, when I am finished, I have to ask “Where did all of that come from?”  That is okay.  It is what it is, and some people will find it interesting and good, while others will simply walk on by.  That is also okay.  What you write is you.  It is where you are coming from.  Your dreams, fears, hopes, disappointments, love story, mindset, whatever, it is you!  Even the fantasies, the dark tales, the flash fictions, the free verses, limericks, and even Haikus.  How you say it, is not as important to me as it is for you to say it.

If you write, try to proofread it.  Get help.  There are lots of writing tools out there.  Invest in one or use some of the free ones.  When you know better, then you can do better.  No one wants to read glaring mistakes that could easily be avoided with spell check or just a cursory review.  Being mindful that spelling check usually only check for mis-spelled words, try (and I do mean try) to make sure that the words mean what you intended.  Sometimes in my heat of emptying my brain, words will sound the same as I write and read them.  Usually someone else reading it will catch the word, e.g., creak or creek, know or no,, etc.  As a writer, I know the difference between your and you’re, but in today’s world these common errors can even be found in our newspapers, social media, and many other places. Try not to fall into these small traps.  They take away from your work.  However, be prepared for that hypersensitive person to see one of these and disregard everything else that you have written.  Do not let this deflate your ego or your will to write.  Go back and fix it.  That does not change your writing style.  It identifies a glaring error that you missed.  Okay, you are human, and it is not the end of the world.

We all come from different parts of the world, different cultures, and are use to using different dialects.  It comes through in our writing style.  Some words are spelled exactly the same, but pronounced differently, depending on your accent or word use in your culture.  If you are writing a poem and trying to rhyme, it may not rhyme to someone else because they pronounce the word differently.  Is it what you wanted to say, and can you live with it?  Sometimes you can, and sometimes you can’t.  Be open to suggestions, but be sure it is what you wanted to say.  Just don’t overload your writing with clichés and non-original sayings.  You want your message to come through.

What am I saying in all of this?  Just that it is very important that you resist the urge to write like everyone else.  It takes away your uniqueness, and makes you mediocre.  You should consider others, in your writing, if that is why you write or what you want to do, but then you give up your freedom to create, and writing is about creating, telling your story.  Your writing style will eventually take on its own style, and will attract readers of like minds, but no matter what, your writings will speak for you, and that is why you write.

These are just my thoughts, and I am a work in progress.