Don't Start a War with Meaning | Teen Ink

Don't Start a War with Meaning

February 3, 2017
By BoobooBeetle DIAMOND, Jacksonville, Florida
BoobooBeetle DIAMOND, Jacksonville, Florida
74 articles 1 photo 36 comments

Favorite Quote:
“A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; but a bad novel tells us the truth about its author.”
G.K. Chesterton

"And you, you ridiculous people, you expect me to help you."
Denis Johnson


Writing can't be forced, and it definitely can't be strangled out of you. You can force yourself to sit down, put a pen or pencil in your hand, and put words on a page, but that's different than writing. There are times when you do just need to put words on a page, but then there are moments when something meaningful wants to be said, and that's when the writer loses themselves. They aren't a writer, they aren't a person, they're the tunnel that imagination and meaning travel through and onto the page, so that it reaches others. In my writing, I hope to have beautiful sentences, yes, but I hope that my "beautiful sentences" have substance in meaning, not just fluffed vocabulary and description, but meaning. When I write, I sit down, lose myself, and let whatever comes out come out. I don't overthink it, I don't force it, and I don't second guess it. I let it do what it wants. After the first draft, I walk away. I don't look at it for a few days, I let it sit and set. Then, I come back, and rewrite the entire thing. Some sentences are word for word, some are completely different, and some are expansions of ideas that peaked through. After that, I let a day go by before coming back and doing it again. I do it many times, and many times I may not feel it's perfect, but it's good enough. I know I'm the most critical of my writing, but through experience, I've realized that being overcritical was my greatest downfall as a writer. With this, I care, but I have to separate myself from the story, and let the meaning of the story be the editor.



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