#11 - Don't Know How to Write? (1)

People are full of ideas.

They want to share these ideas with others.

And writing is one of the best ways to do that.

So people want to write.

But they seldom do.

Why?

They will tell you that they don't know HOW.

It's so ridiculous and paradoxical.

They talk.

They talk everyday and talk about everything.

You would believe that they can write.

But they can't.

They write poorly.

You can't even believe how poorly.

Some of them have tried to seek help from writing books.

And they are in a trap.

All of these writing books have one thing in common.

They teach you how to put your ideas into words.

They tell you the writing process, reading and writing critically, word choice, punctuation, grammar, etc.

People read those writing books and think that they will get ready to write and write greatly.

But they can't and even worse, they write like a robot, following the rules and principles.

Their writings are so dry and soulless.

Even the most beautiful thing would be break into meanningless small parts in their writings.

They would tell you that a human being is just composed of flesh, bones and organs.

Those writing books don't work well.

Writing is an art.

The only way to pursue an art is to be doing it.

You are happy. You move your body. You dance.

You are inspired. You play colors and shapes. You draw.

You are exciting. You make sounds. You sing.

And you are full of ideas. You share with others. You write.

But the question.

How to write?

Still remains.

Few people can answer.

In this blog, I will try to answer this question and hope everyone joining the discussion.

My answer to the question is that it is a wrong question to ask.

"How to write?" is a tricky question.

You think it's a real question.

You try to find an answer but you can't and never will.

We have ideas.

We share with others.

And we know intuitively how to do it.

You know it when you want to buy a new dress.

You know it when you want to change your job.

You know it when you want to go to Africa.

You know it, you just do.

Every writing book will tell you that writing is a skill.

And a skill has to be learned.

I think that writing is not a skill, at least, not traditionally.

Skills always include steps, methods and strategies.

Writing is more intuitive and personal than normal skills.

In Noraml skills, such as playing piano, you just learn the rules and practice according to these rules.

In writing, you transform your ideas into words, although you have to follow those rules in grammar.

Writing is content-oriented.

You can say that someone has a good piano-playing skill.

But you can't say that someone has a great writing skill.

Because you write different things and not writing itself.

You write about fashion but you can't write about dogs.

Anyways, the only way to learn how to write is to write.

There is no other way to learn writing.

You just write.

You write everything you want to write.

The most important thing every writer, amateur and professional, should know is.

You can't control the process of writing.

I would say that again.

You can not control the process.

You just write down what your psyche tells you.

You are just a puppet controlled by a mysterious force.

Ok, I have to end here or it would be too long for you guys to read.

Thanks again, you guys are so nice and have a great weekend again!