Writing is a Craft

Writing is more craft than innate talent, more discipline than intellectual gift. Yes, I’m stating the obvious, but sometimes we are viciously reminded of the truth. I’ve spent the last two weeks staring at a blank computer screen waiting for the first line of my Bite re-write to magically flow off my fingers onto the page.

Guess what happened?

You got it. Not a thing except that two weeks went by without me writing a word on my Bite. Last night I went to the library with Kalayna. I sat down at my computer, determined to pound out something…anything at all. So I did and about halfway down the page, stuck in the middle of a paragraph, there it was. The first line of my Bite. Finding the first line of my novella has enabled me to write the first two pages without further ado and all because I decided to stop waiting for the first line to magically appear.

My father was a basketball coach and a math teacher and he always told me that math and basketball were similar in at least one way. You have to practice to be good. I think I would add writing to this list.

With my awkward segue and attempt to relate writing and sports, I would like to leave you with a quote that I read this week from the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin.

“The one common bond that the really successful people I've met have is they're ridiculous dreamers. I'm a ridiculous dreamer. Continue to dream. Don't let the reality of the world diminish those dreams.”