Today, I realized that I really enjoy writing about writing. This realization actually poses a bit of a quandary for me. For a long time, I have wanted some sort of focus for my blogging. However, the act of writing was not the kind of focus that I expected to emerge as the centerpiece for my blog. Still, that seems to be what I have for the time being, so I’m just going to go with it. Hopefully, I will eventually move on to writing about other topics.
I am in the process of reading On Writing Well by William Zinnser. It is one of three books about writing that have caught my attention lately. This one, however, has held my attention more than the other two. I am very impressed with Zinnser’s writing style. It flows well and is a pleasure to read. That’s the kind of style that I hope to develop someday. (That day…definitely NOT today.)
Also, Zinnser has lots of great advice. He focuses a lot on simplicity in writing and avoiding clutter (which he defines as “the laborious phrase that has pushed out the short word that means the same thing”.) As I was reading his advice in regards to these ideas, it struck me that I suffer from a lack of simplicity. And instead of avoiding clutter, I freely incorporate it into my writing. Breaking these habits will be very difficult for me. They’ve been ingrained in me ever since I learned how to write. Excessive words and phrases are what academic papers are made of. And, let’s face it, the majority of what I’ve written in my life so far has been academic papers. Furthermore, well, that’s kind of how I talk. And, since I write like I talk…I can see this being quite problematic. Still, I think it’s a goal worth pursuing. Simplicity in writing really does make life easier on the reader. Not just easier, but more enjoyable. And the end goal for my writing is for me to create something that someone finds interesting and enjoyable.
So maybe the focus of this blog will be my journey to being a better writer. At least for a little while. I think that it will be interesting to have something to look back on a year from now to see how far I’ve progressed. At any rate, I’m learning a lot about writing and myself. I’m having fun with the whole thing right now. And that’s what really counts, right?
