Jim and I spoke about writing last night. He put together a wonderful piece on his visit to Astros’ Spring Training with other Corpus Christi media.
Writing is a craft which requires not just skill with words, but the ability to see a story in your mind and tranfer that to text. Some can write without being able to tell a story verbally, and some can spin tall tales around the campfire yet are unable to piece together a shopping list. Someone like Sam Clemens could tie the two together. Few of us reach that level.
I used to write using a grid paper pad. The spacing was just right for my handwriting, and it was more appealing to my engineer’s eye than standard ruled paper. Once complete, I would bang out the words on a typewriter (you do remember those, don’t you?) and later a computer. As I transcribed, I edited. Transition sentences. Overview paragraphs. Summary paragraphs. All that important stuff. I even used a thesaurus on occasion!
Now, I simply sit at the keyboard and pound out text. My writing has suffered. I wonder, is the blogosphere to be the undoing of great writing? I certainly don’t spend the time I should making sure my thoughts are coherent and the grammar is correct. I think I should probably begin doing so. Francis does, and his prose shows it. Jim did in his latest post.
Patience. Not one of my stronger virtues.
Well, not everything everyone writes can be great. While I certainly see some atrocious spelling, grammar, and organization of thoughts in blog posts, I think that on the balance, the blogging phenomenon is a net asset to the quality of writing in this country (hell, the world?) simply because writers can’t help but improve with the amount of practice they’re getting. Over time, they will trend toward better-crafted prose because it will affect traffic, discourse, and the personal satisfaction of publishing it.
Hope so, at least!
Comment by Bogey — March 22, 2005 @ 8:07 am
I’m concerned that the quality of writing goes down as people simply sit down and bang out words. However, I agree that there are far more people now writing due to the advent of blogs.
Comment by Bunker — March 22, 2005 @ 8:16 am
Bunker, good post. You write well while hammering out a quick blog post, and on occasion (more than less) show the sort of style, character and thought in your blog posts that you would if taking more time. Writing for a blog isn’t the same thing as writing your finest prose, but it is writing and doesn’t entirely blunt the skill and artistry that enables great writing. If taken seriously, it can only help. Keep up the good work.
Comment by Marvin — March 22, 2005 @ 11:27 am
Marvin, I appreciate that from you. Your posts always are carefully crafted.
Comment by Bunker — March 22, 2005 @ 4:19 pm