Spry Literary Journal
ABC’s of Writing (for Beginners): B for Balls Out
Posted by editors on Sep 17, 2014 in Uncategorized | 1 comment
I wrote something for this. It was just about finished. I was just going to do some tweaking.
Then I deleted it.
It wasn’t balls out enough.
It was forced. It was unclear.
It was shit.
I feel like you and I are close enough that I can level with you…
I am in a little bit of a writing slump. Partially my own fault for neglecting those muscles. Partially the fault of the universe for keeping me so busy this summer. And partially the fault of genetics for making me so goddamn charming and fun to be around.
So here’s the thing, the best writing I’ve done in months is an email I sent to a lovely woman. It was passionate. It was heartfelt. It was real. It was raw. It was honest.
And it didn’t change a fucking thing.
But.
But I wrote the shit out of it.
I did.
I woke up early. I opened my laptop. And I just typed.
There was no filter between my heart and my fingers.
And while this story doesn’t have the ending I had hoped for, yet, I still take solace in the writing. You know, some. But not every day.
It’s a journey, friends.
Let’s talk about me some more.
I hate SEO “Writing.” That’s not writing. We all need to pay the bills, so I don’t judge you for doing it. I just judge you for calling it “writing.”
And I judge you for doing it.
Writing has soul.
Sure writing can be meant to compel, but not to compel you to click on something.
It should compel you to help others, to dream, to build, to fight or to give someone a second chance.
Real writing has power. And with that comes great responsibility, or so I’ve heard. The responsibility to hone your craft. The responsibility to work your ass off.
And the responsibility to go balls out.
Real writing has cadence. It’s music. It’s the song your soul sings.
And when you get the exact right words, in the exact right order, it is absolutely magic.
I think you should write something. Today. Right now.
I think you should set your fingers free. Let them dance. Let them make happy accidents. Let them tell your stories.
And when they do…
And when you do, make sure you go balls all the fucking way out.
Peter DeWolf is a writer, optioned screenwriter, blogger, poet, and giver of back rubs while expecting nothing in return. He writes fiction, non-fiction, mostly fiction, and “non-fiction unless it gets him in trouble, then let’s totally call it fiction.” He’s a big fan of cadence. Read more from Peter here.
ABC’s of Writing
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I literally just – JUST – got turned down for a job because they said I met all the qualifications, except I didn’t have enough of an SEO background. And I was thinking, but what about the compelling content I would create for your site? What about the things that would make people want to read it, share it, engage with it?
Maybe it’s for the best, anyway. Thank you for writing this!