Easy Writer

Easy Writer

When it comes to writing I try to take an easy approach. That is I try to keep it simple and not to over think what I’m saying in print. Though some writing assignments are tougher than others, as well as some audiences, I focus on staying true to this approach. I believe that I enjoy writing most when it is easy and natural like having a conversation with old friends. When I am able to maintain this mindset through out my work, from start to finish, that is when I have the most success and when I am most satisfied with my work.

I realize that easy said is not always easy done, so being well prepared and realistic has also played an important role in most of my writing. When asked to write on a subject of my choosing I always choose something that I know, I mean really know. Even when I’m writing fiction I will base my story in familiar places to me and often I will base characters on real characters from my past. When I am given a definite subject to write on I try to do as much research as possible before I start to write. I like to know all the facts about a particular subject, this helps the writing be smooth and correct, and sometimes more natural.

My writing experiences are somewhat scattered. I have written for school, work and even for fun. I have written short stories, research papers, essays, and poetry. Like a lot of people who write I have had some success and some failure, some good grades and some poor, some perfect prose and some disgusting dialog, but for the most part I have enjoyed it all. My wife thinks my writing is great my boss thinks I’m a wise ass and when I read my poetry to my baby daughter she smiles and sometimes she doesn’t even spit up on me.

When I think back to the times I have been successful in writing it is easy to think of what has worked. It was, for the most part, a combination of being prepared and keeping it simple. I have been told that I am a good storyteller, the kind that you like to have around a campfire or a bar room. So when I write, I try to tell a story like I would if I were in a bar somewhere telling a story to some of my buddies. This helps immensely and the feeling I get when the person reading my work gets a good laugh or says that they “got chills”, is the same feeling of satisfaction I get when I make beer shoot out of my buddies nose after a good fishing story.

On the other hand, the times when I have not been successful are a bit more difficult to understand. I have a good idea what I did wrong or how I could improve, but I am not all together sure that I know how to avoid it in the future. I understand that fictional stories come easiest to me, but when it comes to the writing process I sometimes stumble and loose what I am trying to convey. The most difficult thing to me is revising. I am far from perfect and I know this better than anyone, but I would almost rather start a whole new story than revise an existing one, especially with research papers. To me this is the Japanese water torture of writing, and I am more than willing to waive the “white flag” of surrender in most instances. I know that in order for me to improve as a writer I must get better at certain aspects like proofreading and revising. I do like to write very much, especially fiction, and I enjoy when people think of my writing as good work, but I would most like to improve for my own satisfaction.

Reading authors such as Stephen King, John Grisham, and Dean Koontz is a pure pleasure for me and to be able to write anything even close to their work would be a dream come true, even if it meant revising until my eyes burst open. I know that I am definitely a long way from writing to their caliber but I am willing to work hard towards the goal of closing the gap.