About My Becoming a Writer
I can trace my path to working with words back to a box of crayons.
The 64-count Crayola box with a sharpener in the back.
When we jumped to 64-count boxes in grade school, I suddenly found it difficult to choose crayons with any level of confidence. In an eight- or 16-count box, I could pick the purple or red one. But when the purple crayon was next to “Plum,” and the red was next to “Rust,” I couldn’t find colors easily any more. I would pick what I thought was close, and then read the labels for confirmation.
As it turned out, I have red-and-green color deficiency.
Long story short, I lost interest in working with colors. But I did find other pursuits.
I liked solving problems and puzzles, losing myself in fitting together jigsaw puzzle pieces, completing crosswords, or working on solo video games. I made things by hand, gluing scale models just-so, orr dismantling objects only to put them back together. I played comic book heroes and reenacted movies line by line. I played sports and talked shit with my teammates. I shot video and acted on camera, and drafted short films with friends.
I always liked reading. I spent hours thumbing through textbooks, comics, and novels. I've long been able to hear written voices easily, and put together clear sentences.
It took me a long time to realize I wanted to write. I didn't take a creative writing course before my junior year of college. Even then, I wasn't even serious about it till I dropped everything and went to grad school for writing.
And I'm still learning. Still testing. Still pushing for something I can't quite find.
I guess my point is that any creative pursuit is a journey. Looking back, it seems I was walking the line for years—starting somewhere in a big box of crayons and continuing through this essay.
It's a wonderful medium, after all. I love the capacity of writing to become a voice in the audience’s head. (As it did with me as a child.) Good writing can compel a reader to embody other viewpoints, voices, rhythms, and characters. It can be a portal to alternate realities. Fun techniques like syntax, voice, and rhythm can make it sing, make it stutter.
And the ways in which good writing is applicable across media is heartening. I'm branching out now, working at videos and images, trying out humor and developing a voice and story for my current employer. (My blogs for PeopleMetrics live here, should you want to see what I'm working on.)
My personal struggle is a matter of finding my voice, my story, my style. To evolve and work on my weaknesses until they are strengths.
So I journey on.