Combining my Listen post into a Reflect Post because one thought led to another and another….
As I writer, I tire easily when I find myself writing in the same format over and over again. For example, a feature article or a self-help column feels like I’m just explaining things in a constricting, factual manner.
Some days I wish I could muster up the creative strength to just break the F*ck Free express and “Let the Words Flow.” I was listening to “Love Rain” by Jill Scott today and I thought, “Dayyyyym, I wish I could put words together like this.”
And then I wondered how much I really played it safe with my craft…. Do I really push myself or do I just stick to what works?
Sometimes I find it hard to say I’m a writer because its not easily absorbed aesthetically- unlike a visual artist (photographer, designer, painter) that you can just point them to your portfolio. Did I give up on pushing myself because I felt like no one would get it? (Ok, now I feel like this post is a borderline therapy session.)
But then again, do people have time to really understand your words? Would they really have time to scroll through my blog or my past articles? But even then, would that really show them the extent of my mind?
Writing, I feel, is the type of art that requires a deep appreciation for the mind. It’s personal, it’s vulnerable, it’s wanting to know what another person is thinking that goes far beyond anything they’ve accomplished physically.
It’s willing to dive deeply into who they are. It’s picking their brain and trying to see who they are beyond the layers and layers of masks. The depth, the depth, the depth…. and yet in an age of quick Instagram filters and 140 Twitter characters, does anyone really give a sh*t?
And then I asked myself, “Well, do you write for them? That invisible audience who you have no idea if they care or not? Or do you write for you?”
Honest answers started coming out with these honest questions.
And how I managed to link this whole thing to a Jill Scott song, I do not know…
But my point is- this song really triggered these ideas of words, the impact of how deeply one’s words can paint a picture (and how Miss Scott moved the words to music just shows the amazing transposition of words.)
I found myself brought back to the time when I needed (note: needed not wanted) to describe feelings and emotions on paper. Searching for the chemistry between the words to accurately nail my truth.
That means writing for me and no one else.
xxx, V
THE NEXT 