I do not find it hard to write every day.<\/p>\n
Like the explorers of old whose journals have taught us about history, I feel hardwired to write things down, and when I\u2019m traveling, even more. After a very late night with friends talking and arguing over Spanish politics and history, my head hums with ideas. I get up after 2.5 hours sleep, give Basil breakfast, and then sit down and type 1000 words. When we were in London a few weeks ago, I stayed up later than anyone else, writing about the party boats sliding by on the Thames outside the window, the book I was reading, and the meaning of losing oneself in a novel. When I\u2019m at the park with Basil back home, I notice the conversations children have, or the group of nannies I see there every day, and later jot things down in my notebook on the way home.<\/p>\n
Gathering material is not the hard part for me. The challenge is turning it into something I want others to read. This is why I blog, and why, since finishing my degree, I have started working more on the craft of writing. I have never had formal training in writing and I feel like I have a lot to learn.<\/p>\n
Stephen King says, in his book On Writing<\/em><\/a>, that if you want to be a writer, you should do two things: read a lot, and write a lot. So I read the latest Atlantic<\/a> cover to cover, noticing how the essays are written. I play around with beginnings for an essay about my research on language and national identity. I re-read Francine Prose\u2019s Reading Like a Writer<\/em><\/a>, and Stanley Fish\u2019s How to Write a Sentence and How to Read One<\/em><\/a>. I go through The Best\u00a0American Essays 2012 <\/em><\/a>and read the first paragraph of each essay and copy down the first sentence of a dozen. Then I work on my essay, trying to incorporate elements that the best writers use.<\/p>\n Everyone says that if you want to be a serious writer, you need to submit pieces for publication. I feel like I\u2019m in kindergarten when I think about publication. Sure I show up and write, but who am I to publish something? Blogging is wonderful because it\u2019s a place to put my writing out there, and experience how writing is a conversation. It\u2019s a community where I can appreciate others\u2019 writing, and be inspired. It\u2019s a way of practicing the craft of writing, and support others in doing the same.<\/p>\n