(This started as a regular post, and turned into... an essay-thing? Much more of this, and I'll have to become SomeGuy's counterpart, the Wordy Bitch.)
So how happy am I at the huge response that the prompts got this week? "Extremely" is the answer I'm looking for here. You guys are awesome.
Though one thing made me a bit sad: a comment I saw around the site, in which a member said that there was "no way in hell" they were doing the writing prompts, because they'd already done enough writing in school.
And that just makes me have to step on my urge to go, "But... but! D:" Not because that member isn't participating. I'm not a teacher, and I'm not going to chase down everyone subscribed to SomeGuy and demand that they do a prompt right this second. It makes me sad because equating writing for school with writing as a craft just hurts me in my soul. Or as one of my Japanese classmates would (ironically) say, "I itai in my kokoro."
Of course, I've heard worse. Since writing is my biggest passion, people naturally love to criticize it while smiling sweetly. "Waste of time," "can't make a living off of it," and my personal favorite, "easy."
To everyone that tries to tell me that last one? I say, "Okay. Go write a book. I'll edit it for you. Do it." And they'll either shut right up, or go on trying to convince me that they could do it, no problem. I've yet to receive a draft from any of them.
I don't really blame them. Writing is a particularly eloquent form of masochism. You get criticized twice as much as you get complimented. Academics sneer at you, writing teachers expect you to compose navel-gazing epics of the human condition, and the average working man will look at you, raise an eyebrow, and ask what the point is. It's hard to form a community, because writers by nature are egotistical. They want to talk about their ideas, and their stories. It's almost becoming a running gag, how many people have told me their "novels ideas" in epic detail without so much as asking about what I like to write.
And yet, I take a lot of pride in what I do. I've been in more writing workshops than I can count, and I've known a real life example of just about every writer stereotype. But I've yet to find anyone who loves writing more than I do. Maybe just as much, but never more.
I'm not perfect as a writer, but there's one thing I can do that many people have trouble with: produce new work, and do it often. Many writers I've met are hung up on the mythos of "the novel" as the one great idea they'll have, tell people about often, but never write it. Why put it off? And for that matter, why stop at just one novel?
That's where the writing prompts come in. They're not assignments to be filled out, or fit a certain criteria. They're there so members of the Bloc can challenge themselves to stop hesitating and start writing. The pieces don't have to be polished. They don't even have to have much to do with the prompt, in the end. No matter how many courses and workshops you take, the best possible way to improve is to keep writing.
If you don't have the time, energy, or desire to participate, there's nothing wrong with that - the prompts will be there if you change your mind. But if you're at all confused about the process, or you're new to writing and don't quite understand how one goes from a prompt to a piece of writing, please don't hesitate to contact me. My MSN handle is [email protected], and I'm on just about every night. And do look at the prompt responses for some great examples of how its done!
So why did I decide to do the writing prompts for the Writers Bloc? Simple answer: because writing is really effing fun. And everyone should know how fun it is.
