On Being a Young Writer

One of the most difficult things I find about pursuing what is often referred to as a "writing career" is knowing exactly what I'm aspiring towards. The question I continuously find myself asking is what the purpose of my writing is. Am I doing it purely for the benefit of my readers, as an altruistic act, of sorts? Or am I doing it to become rich, which means I must do whatever negotiating - a.k.a., compromising -- is necessary to present a product that everyone wants to buy so that economically I realize some returns. (I am, after all, supposed to be writing to an "audience...") In other words, is writing (other than for private commissions) -- or art, in general -- intended to be a "career" or a talent?


Grant it, one could ask the question: when has talent and financial success actually coexisted hand-in-hand with one another? Even in the sports world, and the movie industry, professional success comes at a great and costly expense, as evidenced by the proliferation of drugs, sexual improriety, violence, and bankruptcy. (Just look at the child stars, picked at their most innocent point of development, in their "purest" art form. Their subsequent lives are riddled with sadness, poor personal decisions and usually rather shallow views of themselves and the value of their lives outside of their professional roles.)

As a philanthropist (that's what I would be called if I were rich and had a social conscience, so then I must be one -- just without the unlimited funds), I want to be the one to actually write the quintessential American novel -- not just talk about it. Yet on the other hand, the enormous amount of time that writing requires is often prohibitive - at least, in my mind - of me being able to develop any sort of portfolio that would amount to anything that would put me on the fast-track to fame and fortune as an artist. In other words, I am my worst enemy in my pursuits simply because of a concept, a paradigm that dictates that I do not have "TIME" to write. Because I know that, unlike what it may look like, good writing rarely (if ever) comes out perfectly the first time. It must be committed to.

A writer must sacrifice time to write, yet not sacrifice opportunities to grow as an individual, thereby necessitating a delicate balancing act, of sorts. A successful writer, especially a young, aspiring writer, must somehow be part of the 21st century (there are, after all, experiences to have, clothes to wash, children to feed, relationships to develop -- especially with publishers and agents) and yet at the same time be able to isolate one's self to be able to write in his or her own personal voice.

So how are we supposed to do it? I don't really know except to say that we just have to remember that we are writers. We chronicle life as seen through our eyes. And the eyes of our loved ones. And through the eyes of the stranger whom we pass in the street and yet know that in their eye lies a story. We allow our imagination to make possible the barely possible, and "impossible," as we may perceive it, being tainted by our personal feelings and emotions about a thing. If we continue to place before ourselves the responsibility of being a "writer," we somehow find a way to make it all work. And that is both the "long" and "short" of it all. So, keep writing, like you're supposed to...

I believe every word I said...

Hello, audience!

I just couldn't stay away! But sometimes it is good to just step back and re-assess why you do what you do. It helps one put things into perspective with respect to intentions, motivations, priorities, and so on, and so on.

So, I'll get right to my point.

And my point is about Excellence. I am NOT a motivational speaker by any stretch of the imagination but I will say this much to anyone out there who is conflicted about whether or not you should strive for Excellence. The answer is a resounding ABSOLUTELY YES!!!

Mediocrity kills. And performing to your mediocre ability, instead of your greatest potential, always costs a compromise of what could be for what currently is (I call that "settling" for what is). And what is is always transient, always changing. As a matter of fact, it changes into what becomes our future -- surely, a fact of nature. The only problem with this is that when we do not put "good stuff" into what our future becomes -- i.e., we don't invest in our own evolution -- we leave things that we can somewhat control (like our integrity, sense of self-worth, self-esteem) to chance. And chances are, under these circumstances, then we get whatever we get. And it's always residual, always by happenstance. Never intentional, or focused, building our confidence and self-esteem.

Excellence is expensive, though. It requires that you allow your eyes to focus a little more than just for a momentary glance at a memo or to hold an in-depth conversation with an individual who you find it a challenge to look at for any length of time because you can't stand them. Necessarily, this takes away from one's personal time, and energies that could be directed towards something else more desirable. But excellence is a personal calling to transform one's self into a better being than he or she could imagine -- even better than most people they may be surrounded by at any given moment or time, in particular if one is working in an environment where mediocrity is the norm and socially-acceptable mode of operation.

Anytime you make improvements to anything, be it your house, or your wardrobe, or your social status, you create a new baseline, so to speak. And, yes, you know what that means: With great success, comes great responsibility. Your attitude towards responsibility -- words closely associated with this, including integrity, moral code, etc, come to mind -- will dictate whether or not you are at the point where you are ready to handle what Excellence brings: Meet SUCCESS.

So the choice to pursue excellence is a conscious decision to commit one's self to his or her own evolution as a person. It's never about the organization we belong to, or the social status we may occupy at any given moment in time. It is all about how we handle the journey. Hopefully you will make the most of your decisions. Stretch yourself a little and pursue excellence in your life, and see if you do not find your life enriched beyond your wildest expectations!