Every journey begins with the first step. The same can be said concerning blogs. Well,
today is that first blog in a hopeful line of many to come. Going forward the Colonel’s
Corner will be a mix mash of whatever words that are consuming my mind and
subsequently being freed by my fingers. I do believe today’s thoughts will drift towards
writing, as in the act, the art of writing, but more precisely the lack of writing that I see
from so many writers…
Hemingway said:
“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”
Oh! How true those words still are today. However, if you are working with a
typewriter… You poor thing, you.
Many writers today get so caught up in the idea, and in the business of writing, that they
bind themselves in a sheath that traps the words inside them, forcing the muse’s voice
silent and cutting off all creativity. Why? Why do this? Remember when you first started
writing? That fire! That Passion! That thrill! That drive! Where did it go? Why did you
let it go away? It’s okay. No, Really. It’s okay. You still have it! That ambition that you
had is just a little lost. You can show it the way back home. Right now, quit reading this
article and write. Well… Actually you should probably stick around… You know, because,
I won’t build much of a following if you don’t.
**Future note to self, don’t run off your reader until they are done reading. Also, make
sure to end article on a catchy cliffhanger note so that they return for the next installment.
Where was I? Oh yes! All you need to do to bring that fire back is to simply sit down and
write. Don’t think about writing. Ignore the politics of the writing world. Ignore the quest
for book reviews. Ignore the statistics of book sales. Stay off the Twitter and the
Facebook… Quit trying so hard to be the greatest writer of all time, and BE the greatest
writer of all time. Bleed! Bleed your soul upon the keys so that the words may fill the
white void of the blank page. Let us see your pain, your happiness, your anger, your
kindness in those lines of black text.
Remember, be the writer you always told yourself you would be. Don’t let anything stop
you… even yourself. It’s as simple as that. A writer writes.
“But my story, it’s… being difficult.”
No. Don’t give me any excuses. You sit down, and you write! Let us reference
Hemingway once again:
“There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly; sometimes it’s like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges.”
So your story is being difficult? Well, be difficult right back! Never stop. Once you stop,
you are no longer a writer. You are only a writer because you write. So do as a writer
does, and write. Write. Even if you hate the words you are churning out… Keep writing.
After all, that is what you pay editors for.
Eventually, if you write enough and keep writing, someone may be referencing your
literary works in their educational institution. But that will never happen if you don’t
write.
Now bugger off and write.
Next time I’m gonna tell you 10 great tricks on making money by…
Ahahaha!
Be good… or good at it!
-Colonel D. R. Acula
The Colonel’s Corner is a collection of thoughts and fascinations from Colonel D. R.
Acula, who dabbles about as an Author, Photographer, Journalist, Artist, Film Maker and