I’m clumsy with the spoken word. I stutter, stammer, talk too fast. I say what I don’t mean, reach for angry words too quickly, and can often be seen staring at the sky as if I’m trying to catch a butterfly, when in reality the sounds for the idea I’m trying to communicate have eluded me.
But on paper I am eloquent. In print I am witty. I can string the shapes together to form the words to tell the world exactly what I’m thinking.
Why do I write? Because I’m good at it. Because with fingers on keys, dancing lightly across QWERTY, everything else becomes fuzzy. Because I can’t not.A musician sees music, feels the rhythm of sound. The notes from his instrument reverberate through his fingers. His voice fills the air around him, the sound blocking out, no, focusing the white noise of daily life, ordinary strife, into the purest form of what he wants to express.
A writer organizes letters into her own symphony, the cadence of her choosing carrying the flutes of flowery prose and supporting the brass of straightforward exposition.
I began writing because I was destined to. I continued because I was supported, corrected, and applauded.
Talent alone isn’t sufficient to be successful writer. It takes time, in the form of exposure to others in the same craft. It requires discipline, in the form of dedication to learning the rules (although they may sometimes be broken for more effective communication). It sometimes calls upon ruthlessness in the trained ability to “kill your darlings” without remorse.
It’s nothing short of magic, what we writers do. We pluck whispers from the ether and make them nearly tangible.
We can feel the difference between inspired work and work for work’s sake – that faint buzzing in the tips of fingers, the quickened heartbeat, the desire to spend just a few more moments with the piece once it’s published.
We are proud like parents when we send our work off to be catalogued in books, magazines and online, and like parents we are sometimes brokenhearted and guilty when our creations trip and fall flat.
But oh, when we get it right. When the spell is perfectly cast and we’re spot on, when our work is judged and deemed to be influential, entertaining or convicting, we understand the power of the written word and stand in awe of our abilities to command it at will.
“Words are our most inexhaustible source of magic.” – Albus Dumbledore
www.mamamash.com
Judges Comments:
"I LOVE this post. If I had to write this assignment, this is exactly what I would try to say, although I don't think I could do it nearly as eloquently as you did. In my mind, this post just put you up in the front of the pack."
Heather Reese, My Husband Ate All My Ice Cream
"You did a good job painting word pictures and pulling out the philosophy behind writing in all its many forms.
I would definitely say this is one of the top post, but on some level the post left me feeling 'meh'. It felt like you were trying to pull all the strings and hoping you hit the right one to get the best score.
If it comes across that way, your audience can't help but walk away thinking 'tried too hard'.
On a high note, the quote at the end was perfect and hit the assignment right on the nose.
Good job. Next time, relax into your writing more and you can avoid sounding stilted."
Allison Duncan, SVALLIE.NET: The Nerd Connection
"I have mixed feelings. I think that the writing was phenomenal - the imagery and the emotions were definitely there. But at the same time, I was looking for more concrete things - like a specific incident that caused you to start writing, or a certain person who inspired you - something like that.
Like Allison, I also really liked the quote.
All in all, I think you did a really good job, but it did seem like you were trying too hard."
Amy, Non-Stop Mom
"You are a very skilled writer. Your imagery is fantastic. This submission seemed to climb, and climb, and then, at the very peak....fall. It's like revving the engine and then turning it off and walking away. You left me hanging.
And please, please, please, please! Watch punctuation and run-on sentences."
T. Rojas, from Motherhood: The Definition of Insanity
Judges Comments:
"I LOVE this post. If I had to write this assignment, this is exactly what I would try to say, although I don't think I could do it nearly as eloquently as you did. In my mind, this post just put you up in the front of the pack."
Heather Reese, My Husband Ate All My Ice Cream
"You did a good job painting word pictures and pulling out the philosophy behind writing in all its many forms.
I would definitely say this is one of the top post, but on some level the post left me feeling 'meh'. It felt like you were trying to pull all the strings and hoping you hit the right one to get the best score.
If it comes across that way, your audience can't help but walk away thinking 'tried too hard'.
On a high note, the quote at the end was perfect and hit the assignment right on the nose.
Good job. Next time, relax into your writing more and you can avoid sounding stilted."
Allison Duncan, SVALLIE.NET: The Nerd Connection
"I have mixed feelings. I think that the writing was phenomenal - the imagery and the emotions were definitely there. But at the same time, I was looking for more concrete things - like a specific incident that caused you to start writing, or a certain person who inspired you - something like that.
Like Allison, I also really liked the quote.
All in all, I think you did a really good job, but it did seem like you were trying too hard."
Amy, Non-Stop Mom
"You are a very skilled writer. Your imagery is fantastic. This submission seemed to climb, and climb, and then, at the very peak....fall. It's like revving the engine and then turning it off and walking away. You left me hanging.
And please, please, please, please! Watch punctuation and run-on sentences."
T. Rojas, from Motherhood: The Definition of Insanity