The Thin Line Between Writing and Living
There is a higher chance you get hit by a giraffe than read a write-up that attempts to compare writing with living. Choose your fate.
‘Writing is silent: mute ink on a flat page’ —Teju Cole, Eight Letters to a Young Writer
Life too is silent, don’t you think? Except during rude interruptions like when someone dies, when you think about Nigeria, or when you have to make a major decision.
There is no way on earth that I would advise you on how to write. I am just observing.
You are not supposed to be afraid of writing, just like you are not supposed to be afraid of living. I am. But you are not supposed to be.
Writing allows you to think and express yourself. Embrace it. There is this wonderful line in ‘Change your Paradigm, Change your Life’ by Bob Proctor. It says ‘If I want to be free, I’ve got to be me’. Be yourself— In life and with words.
Remember that your sentences are supposed to have a rhythm. Like music in your ears. Some short. And then some words string along.
Sometimes, they go on and on even if you are unsure as long as you have a point. Then, you stop. Well, life has its rhythm too. Sometimes, wordless.
You do not have to wake up in the morning to write but you can. Many writers swear by it.
Trollope reported in his autobiography that he woke in darkness and wrote from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. with his watch in front of him every day for many years.
When I wake up, I spend the first few minutes groggy, trying to figure out if I am truly alive wishing I could sleep more.
If Robin Sharma, the author of ‘5 am Club’ read this confession, he’d be ashamed of me.
When you wake up, the hope hanging in the air reminds you to live. Maybe it will remind you to write.
There are rules in writing. For example; George Orwell said ‘Never use a long word where a short one will do’. Like ‘use’ instead of ‘utilise’.
You are supposed to get rid of unnecessary adverbs. ‘She walked slowly’. Use precise verbs instead— since they have the same meaning. ‘She strolled’. Don’t over-explain too.
You are supposed to get rid of many qualifiers. Scott Adams highlighted that they suck the blood of words. ‘She is very beautiful’. You think it adds something to it but it does not. ‘She is beautiful’.
Prune your sentences. Experiencing? What does experiencing mean? Is she hurt?
I have heard that you should let your writing sit for a while. It is the same way they tell me to cope with anger. Let it sit for a while. But anger will not dissipate, it just hides. But this is not about anger management.
For writing, let it sit for a while so you can have a fresher perspective. Your eyes will inherently have biases because you are the writer but when it is fresher, it is better.
Persuasion? Your writing should exude it. Mine too. Don’t overpromise. Just promise them something. You are supposed to get rid of common clichés and cheap words.
You are supposed to rewrite—the hardest part. Then if possible, read aloud then ask someone to read aloud. You can change the font too—I promise I have read it somewhere. The purpose is to create a fresh perspective.
Voice. Your voice. Writing is silent but you can hear it. You can hear me. Your voice is important because it is not just how you tell the story, it is where the story comes from.
You should work on your voice. I used the word ‘should’. Naval thinks once you use the word ‘should’, then you don’t really want to do the task. That is not a piece of writing advice. That is a ‘Naval’s advice’.
There are rules in life too, sadly. But unlike writing, they are obscure.
Awareness. If you are not aware, then how can you write? You are not supposed to fear failure. How can you fail when you are writing for yourself? Who is defining failure? It is already a part of the game.
Maybe that can even help lift the burden of perfectionism if you already think that many things are beyond your control. You are supposed to try your best and wonder later if you tried your best. Too real, like life.
As a writer, you are supposed to write. Although failure is a better burden than rejection, both of them will interweave into the fabric of your life and you will wear it with pride. Maybe not pride but you will wear it.
Freedom. You are supposed to be free as a writer. Truly, many people will not say what they are thinking because some lines are too dangerous to be drawn. But as a writer, you must be free.
You must write too as if no one is reading, even if no one is reading and when no one is reading. You must write. Writing is almost like living because you are doing it for yourself. But how many people are even living for themselves?
The most common regret of the dying recorded by a nurse was this ‘I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me’. Let that sink in.
You are not supposed to try so hard to entertain your readers but writing should be entertaining. You are supposed to have a style which is a fancy word for showing your personality on paper. Life is short. Have fun.
My attention span is now defective. Don’t be like me. Pay attention. You have to notice the playful-almost-high-pitched voice people feign when they are talking to toddlers. You have to make the ordinary extraordinary.
There are no excuses in life, let alone writing. Everything must compel you. Good, bad, ordinary, basic. Do not forget that there is no reward. Teju Cole reminded me to embrace the fate of being a writer, without asking for the reward. Maybe you will consider it too.
This cannot apply to living. I need to ask for the reward. There is no cash in Heaven.
Oh, for your conclusion, never write ‘In conclusion’. Also, do not summarise. Zinsser thinks you may be summarising because you think your readers are too dumb to get the point.
When you are done, the reader will know you are done. These rules can be broken. I hate rules too.
Maybe nothing can truly be compared to living. This is a failed attempt. But at least, let Annie Dillard's writing advice be the final judge—write as if you were dying.
It's not really easy to savour that necessary selfishness of living for oneself or writing for oneself now. It's gradually becoming something we'll have to learn from a lecture on "Mindfulness." Even a bit, there's always that desire to be so self-effacing even if falsely or grudgingly, that affects every area of life.
Thanks for this piece. For the rules, for the brevity, for the masterfullness.
I’ll always come back to this piece, learnt a lot! Thank you