Art Comes In All Shapes And Sizes

Recently I was asked to describe my writing process, below is what I learned about myself.

I consider writing to be a form of art. I believe that each poem, novel, and letter is carefully crafted. When readers relate to a piece of writing it has the power to inspire, educate, and unify people.  However, not all writing is able to motivate and enlighten other people. That is why writing is an art. It is the author’s intent to relate to his reader and therefore have the ability to teach the reader something. When crafting such writing it is important for the author to find a setting that is conducive to his needs.

Personally, I sit with a purple lead pencil in my hand. A spiral notebook sits on the table in front of me. In the bottom right corner there is a date scribbled on the cover with the word “start” in front of it. I always like to see how long it takes me to fill an entire journal. The sky is now dark and I can see my own reflection in the window in front of me. My back is curved into a question mark as I try to answer the myriad of questions in my mind. I like to write at night, when my brain is too tired to care about things like run-on sentences and bad spelling. The room is silent, except for the faint din of my family in the kitchen. There is something unique about putting pen to paper. I spend the majority of my day staring at a computer screen, typing essays and sending emails. However, creative writing requires me to be free from these distractions.  I mustn’t allow myself to think too hard. If I think too hard I might try and figure out the ending, and I know that the ending can’t be decided upon until I am done with the story. My hero might decide to turn malicious and my villain might reveal herself to be a misunderstood widow. I must not think about the ending.

However, this does not mean that I write without a purpose. I write to understand my emotions and myself. I then share my writing to relate to other people, trying to communicate my experiences so that other people will not make the same mistakes I made. I believe that this type of communication comes with an understanding of universal human struggles. When people realize that they all have similar difficulties they will be more compassionate toward each other.

How do you write??

Keep on writing,

     Rachel Stein