Today’s post builds – just a little – on “Dealing With Writer’s Block” from earlier in the week. I’ll post a video, then add a few short comments.
VIDEO: First, the video. Be warned that it’s rough – informal, fragmented, and un-rehearsed. I shot the 6-minute segment in response to a request from a college writing teacher who lectures too far away from Wake Forest to justify the travel.
I am wondering if you could think about a presentation on You Tube that I could give the class?” she asked “Perhaps a little about how you do your writing, what inspires you, etc. CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO…
COMMENTS: Now, the comments: Something I said in the video-post is really very important; I’m glad I listened again, so I caught the idea the second time through. Here’s what I said:
Write out of your own experience… but write into other people’s experience.
I believe this is at the heart of what it means to write to communicate. Writing may be – primarily – for ourselves, but if there’s no connection with people, then what we write is a bit like the proverbial tree in the forest.
If writing is a gift, if it is your gift, then the point of that gift, as with any gift, is always beyond our own personal gratification. We are gifted, I believe, for the purpose of serving others. In other words, I can’t imagine that God would grant you – or me – the gift of words and not intend for that gift to be utilized in the service of humanity.
Consequently, listening is a key element of great writing. Your words, your gift, but spoken into other people’s lives.
Watch the video, think about your desire to write, and then make up your own mind – DEREK
[…] the best things about blogging is the interactive nature of this media. If I honestly do intend to “Write out of my own experience, but write into other people’s experience,” then one of the most important things I can do is to listen – and that means listen to […]