To write or not to write

At workshop yesterday night, our instructor told us how we really should write a little every day. You can hold a job, bring in the money, satisfy yourself and other people who expect you to earn some kind of living. But in the end, you'll never get out of the abyss if you don't write. It's the writing that will get you out, and if you don't do it, if you let the work take over, you're going to be there for a while. It's okay if you enjoy the work, but if what you really want to do is write, you have to keep at it and send out the stories or poems. Once (and it will take a while) they get picked up by a literary journal, agents will notice, and you might get somwhere after that. Then maybe you won't need that job. But until then, you'll have to balance both work and writing. And writing will have to come first. You'll probably have to wake up a couple of hours earlier, write, then go to work. Because it'll be a lot harder to get back from a day's work and think you'll have enough energy to do something creative. I once spoke to a teacher in Singapore and he said that never happens. So that's how you avoid winding up a teacher who once wanted to write, and be a writer who teaches. You keep writing no matter how crazy life gets.

I'm already letting teaching overwhelm my semester (three-hours-of-sleep nights anyone?) and it's looking bad. What will life be once I'm done with the program? I'll get a job for sure (how else do I keep up with my other interests? How will I keep reviewing fun movies and terrific music? And the occasional action figure?), either in the US or back in Singapore. Teaching, I hope. As long as the job has something to do with sewing wonderful and surprising words together. I think I'll really like teaching writing classes. I've just completed my course description for next year's creative writing course and I'm already excited.

I want to keep writing, even if it's just in a weblog and a worn-out notebook. And reading, always reading. Few things are more beautiful than a poem gifted from someone who knows how much you love words and loves words as much as you do (yeah, Tiggie, I'm thinking about that poem you sent me last month with the Moleskine).

Lin Kiat once told his best friend, "I want her to write." You just don't get more loved than that. Having someone who wants you to do what you want to do is something I forget some days. My being here in MI is proof of that promise. I'll need to remind myself more often and do what I'm supposed to do.

My course description -

I just realize that we start out in these very awkward ways, and we do look a little stupid as we draft, and that?s all right . . . You have to be willing to go into the chaos and bring back the beauties. ~ Tess Gallagher

This section of English 223 will regard every student as a writer; and as writers, students should aim to produce stories and poems to the best of their abilities. With the study of published works, the practice of writing through in-class and take-home exercises, and constructive critiques from peer workshops, students will flex their writing muscles to experiment, to take risks, and to ultimately create stories that reveal startling worlds, desires, and truths. We will struggle at first to master technique and find meaning in our writing, but it is my hope that by the end of the course, students will have completed a portfolio of revised writing that represents their best efforts, their interests, and the stories they need to tell. These early stories and poems will mark the beginning of the unpredictable but always interesting path of creative composition.

Posted by Monoceros at October 11, 2004 9:45 PM