I must be getting old. I feel it. The preachy thing is coming on. I'm trying to hold back. Really. But I...just...have....to say something! Here it is......I really feel bad that people don't know how to write. Now I'm not talking about being perfect and spelling every word correctly or never making the grammatical mistakes in your writing because that's not me. I make those same mistakes and I majored in English! I don't judge people by that in the least. If you know my husband you understand. No no I'm talking about the lost art of writing itself!
Years ago I tossed out a garbage bag I had kept for years and years. It was actually very difficult to throw away. It was full of the "notes" my friends and I passed around during all of our junior high classes. It was probably a good 2-3 years worth of hundreds of precious little notes we wrote each other. Actually many of them were quite elaborate with drawings, skeches, color schemes, you name it! Oh the things we shared in those notes! It made me think of the pre-television, pre-computer era when people actually wrote letters frequently. I bet some interesting back and forths have been written through the generations by pen!
As I studied English in college and read so many books I always thought it was incredible what good writers people were back then. Some of those women were so skilled at saying just what they wanted in ways no one could even touch right now. Oh we can talk these days -we do a lot of jabbering. But to sit down and actually write out our thoughts, feelings, or just tell a story? Maybe, but not usually with as much skill.
I love to see people write. I love all the blogging being done and even from time to time there are emails in my family that are very expressive. Love love it! It's the people who don't write at all I worry about. I mean, what better way to really express the depths of your soul or your wit or your opinion than by the written word? It really is quite different from speaking. Some people are talented at that which is great. I just wish we all did a little more sitting down and putting thought to paper (or computer even). Our great technology era has provided us with so many short cuts. It's kind of sad that "thank you" cards aren't written any more. Instead we get a quick text? No no not the same! I recently got a thank you card from my sister in law for the gifts I gave her for her new baby girl. It was a sweet card and meant more to me than if she had sent me a text or email.
I want to instill in my kids a love of writing. I want to teach them that they CAN write and write well -start by having them tell me stories, or repeat back to me the things they do at pre-school or daycare. And as they learn their letters I want to make sure they practice writing all kinds of things. I know I'm a good writer because I've written so much -it breeds confidence. As with all things, the more you practice the better you are at it. I want my kids to feel confident they can write a letter or an email or an important document for a job and know they can do it well. This just goes so far in life and I think it's an enviable quality. Trust me, I want them to be good at everything -but if I had to choose, writing would be at least in my top 5!
May we all write and write often. Don't let technology short cut us from staying connected. Nothing quite compares to saying what you mean by writing it!
You should see all the paper that my kids go through. Ellie has blossomed this year as a 1st grader and she now writes down everything she wants to tell me. She'll hand me a note (expressing how mad or sad she is, or what she wants, or how much she loves me) and walks away. Sometimes I have to enforce "paper shortages" at our house because I feel bad for all the trees my kids go through.
ReplyDeleteBut maybe I should be grateful though!
Yay! Amen to the writers. I often think how I don't methodicaly write my blog posts and sometimes its like I just throw up thoughts out of the key board....but I don't care, I'm still writing. Plus I think I'm like the fastest typer I know! Typer people not texter! Big difference! Love you!!
ReplyDeleteRight! As you might know, I worked as a legal assistant for 6 years and had to draft, from scratch, from my little ol' brain, pleadings and petitions that were always several pages long. These weren't cookie cutter, template documents, these were documents that basically told a story of our petitioner. Full of case law, facts, and of course plenty of sympathetic embellishment. It was hard, downright challenging. On some days, you could actually see the smoke billowing off my head. I would just sit there with my NV statute book and thesaurus and just create away. Sometimes it took me days to get a 10 page petition together. However, ALWAYS, at the end, when I would present my finished product to the attorney, I was so proud of my work. It made me feel smart and confident. I moved up in the ranks quite fast because I could simply write. Other girls in the office just couldn't do it. A very enviable quality, indeed.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, My 13 year old is the worst writer but a self proclaimed "best texter". It's sad, I know. She brags that she can text -x- amount of words a minute but put her on the keyboard (she pluncts out one letter at a time with one finger) or give her a pencil and paper and it's like molasses in the winter. So, I actually love it when she has to actually hand write and essay for school. Of course, she dreads it because I'm the writing Nazi according to her. Nonetheless, I share your passion of writing, my friend!
Sorry this is so long- I guess I'm blogging on your blog! HA!