The Art of Writing

Writing is an art! It is an expression of life as the writer sees it, and as such is similar to other arts.

If you think about writing in terms similar to artists who produce works with paints and a variety of other media, it can change your attitude toward your own writing.

Good art? Bad art? When you really think about it there is no such thing. All art is simple different.

Take expressionist painting and recollect everything you have heard said about it. Some artists are hailed as geniuses, some dismissed as wanting, and some are said to be delightfully able to produce such colourful “primitive art”.

And then you hear someone say: “I don’t know anything about art, I just know what I like.” Whether you believe it or not, that is probably the most honest and nonjudgmental statement made.

When I was very young, I loved certain books and artwork and music. As I grew into adulthood I found I preferred other artistic endeavours. My tastes have continued to change and I now find many of those initial expressions of art no longer have the ability to please me. That, I believe, is really the key. Art IS in the eye/ear/mind of the beholder.

This is what makes our world so delicious. We have so many choices of art to choose from, of art to delight in, and even of art to dismiss as not to our liking. None of this art is really any better or worse than any other. We have each developed in a certain social culture that encourages not only our behaviour, but also our tastes.

So be not discouraged if your writing does not win you awards or get published by huge well-known publishers. Does your writing please you? Your mother? Your spouse? Even if it only pleases you, it is good writing.

Do not be discouraged by anyone else if you find writing a joy. It is your expression of who you are, and that is never a bad thing.