Writing is a Craft

12 days until Paris

I've always considered myself a competent writer. I received a 5/5 on my high school Advanced Placement Language class. I like debating others - listening to what they have to say and carefully crafting an argument that will not only refute their points, but do it convincingly. The past year has been a tough time for my writing skills. Not only have I stopped keeping a journal while at university, but I haven't even written in a journal while travelling, which is something that I used to do on every trip that I took - from the suburbs of Chicago to Istanbul and everywhere in between.

I'm going to try, from today on, to write every single day. I'm going to try to do that for a while. Most of the day I won't be writing anything particularly ground-breaking or important. Rather, it's going to be exercise for the part of my brain that controls writing. Just like lifting weights or swimming every day (two things I should do instead of this writing bullshit, can I get an amen?). In high school Ms. Catlin taught me that writing is a craft, and not just an innate ability. Writing is something that you work on. And over time the work pays off. Here's a snippet from the West Wing that inspires me when I think about writing.

Toby Ziegler: You want to know the benefits of free trade? Food is cheaper.
Toby Ziegler: Food is cheaper! Clothes are cheaper. Steel is cheaper. Cars are cheaper. Phone service is cheaper. You feel me building a rhythm here? That's because I'm a speech writer - I know how to make a point.
Toby Ziegler: It lowers prices, it raises income. You see what I did with 'lowers' and 'raises' there?
Toby Ziegler: It's called the science of listener attention. We did repetition, we did floating opposites, and now you end with the one that's not like the others. Ready? Free trade stops wars. Heh, and that's it. Free trade stops wars! And we figure out a way to fix the rest. One world, one peace - I'm sure I've seen that on a sign somewhere.
Officer Rhonda Sachs: [sarcastic] God, Toby. Wouldn't it be great if there was someone around with the communication skills who could go in there and tell them that?