The pure art form

The amazing thing about writing is this: anyone can do it. 

It’s all the other stuff that gets in the way. 

Writing isn’t prohibitively expensive. On the high end, it needs a laptop and an internet connection. Maybe $200. On the low end, a pen and the back of a receipt. Writing doesn’t require anyone else’s resources or permission. It doesn’t need to wait for collaborators or pander for budgets. 

Ernest Hemingway famously said, “All you have to do is write one true sentence.” Even people who don’t know how to read or write are able to write. Think about it; who among us says “one true sentence” more often than anyone else? Children. With someone to listen and transcribe, many children have unknowingly written profound and meaningful things. 

However, as mentioned, it’s all the other stuff that gets in the way. Anyone is capable of writing “one true sentence.” But not many are capable of writing ten in a row. The other nine are buried in a soggy salad of useless words, that only cover the truth. Fewer still are able to find the courage to publish. The thought of “readers” kills most writing before it ever hits a page. Only a handful can endure their own mental wasteland to finish a meaningful work of length. 

Every art form challenges us. Most of them ask if we’re able to find the tools and learn to use them. The first challenge of painting is getting paint, brushes, and a canvas. The first challenge of photography is obtaining a camera and film and development. After you do this, you have to learn to use the tools, maintain them, and replenish them when they run out. 

But writing has no tools. It doesn’t have prerequisites. From the very beginning, it asks…

Are you willing to face yourself?