My blog posts are like sausage: they come from a pig, they’re all linked together, some people won’t like them, they’re frequently not as good as you expected, and you really don’t want to know how they’re made.However, each week the ChicagoNow bloggers are given a theme to write about, and this week’s theme is On Writing. We’re free to interpret the theme how we wish, but we’re encouraged to think about how we write, why we write, the joy of writing, the pain or worries of writing, and maybe even why we don’t write.Stephen King wrote a great book called On Writing, half of which talks about his writing process. It’s interesting. However, one of the things that really stuck with me was his declaration that talking about writing keeps us from doing what we should be doing, which is writing.But I have this blog, and it was suggested that I write about writing. Talking about writing would force me to do what I should be doing, which is…writing. Just like King said. Want an e-mail every time I write something new? Type your email address in the box and click the "create subscription" button. I'm not going to send you a bunch of junk, and you can ditch me any time you want.
There’s nothing writers love more than to talk about how they write. As evidence, take a look at how many posts ChicagoNow bloggers produced on this topic, and compare it to the number of posts produced on topics in previous weeks.It makes sense that writers would want to write about writing. It’s something they know. It’s something they do. It’s something they have experience with.Here’s the short explanation of how I write this blog. I handwrite ideas in a notebook. I think about topics all the time. I formulate a post in my head. I write it in Microsoft Word. I edit it. I rewrite some of it. I post it. I find mistakes I missed before I posted it. I fix the mistakes.I use Google and Facebook to see if anyone’s reading or commenting on the post. Then it’s on to another post. I try to do a few per week. In November I did one every day. Often I don’t know what I’m going to write about until the day I write it.Now that you know how I write, let me explain how I don’t write.This may sound silly, but it’s actually quite difficult not to write.“Hey Mr. Dry it in the Water, you’re an idiot. I’m not writing right now and it’s not difficult at all. You’re just trying to make this whole writing thing sound much harder than it really is.”You’re right. It’s not difficult for you not to write. It is difficult for me not to write though. The difference? Intent.I have a blog. I have a novel. Those things didn’t happen by accident. I intended to create them and I did. If you don’t intend to write, then it’s not difficult not to write.The difficulty comes in when you intend to do it. Then in order not to do it you have to do something else.Like check Facebook two dozen times. Or run to the kitchen for another handful of peanuts. Or go play with your kids. Or watch a show with your wife. Or read an article online. Or read what other ChicagoNow bloggers are writing. Or go for a run. Or just stare at a wall.See, it’s difficult! It’s hard to sit down at a computer, maybe even put your fingers on the keyboard, and then find something else to distract yourself so you don’t have to do the work of thinking, and putting letters together, and using punctuation.But the amazing thing is that most people become experts at not writing the minute they decide that they want to write something. Nothing turns a person into a procrastinator more quickly than writing!That’s it. There are no great secrets to how I write. There are only two choices: write or don’t write.If I choose don’t write, then I have to work continuously to keep not writing. However, if I choose write, then I do it and it’s done.Until the next time I have to make that choice.The catch is that choosing write only presents more problems. Because unless all my work is crap, I have to keep in mind a simple truth: Writing good is difficult, but not as difficult as writing well.PREVIOUS POST: Mad Men: Notes From a Binge WatcherIF YOU LIKED THIS POST I BET YOU'LL ALSO LIKE: Facebook as Idiot Warning System+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Hey, how 'bout you Share this post on Facebook and Like my page Brett Baker Writes.