Tag: Writing
Words Are Dodgy Things
by Harry on Jun.22, 2009, under Language, Writing
“Words are dodgy things”
A colleague of mine once uttered these words. I don’t believe he intended them to become legendary, but within my circle of friends they most certainly are and, I think, rightly so.
What is a word anyway?
A Woman Without Her Man Is Nothing
by Harry on May.17, 2009, under Language
I’m not usually a fan of e-mail anecdotes, especially the ones that start with “Fwd” in the subject box, but this one hit my language-loving funny bone, and sent my train of thought immediately from impulse power into warp drive out of the station (or should that be spacedock):
An English professor wrote the words:
‘A woman without her man is nothing’ on the chalkboard and asked his students to punctuate it correctly*.
So You Want to Write?
by Harry on Apr.15, 2009, under Writing
Author Stephen King once was asked the question (and I’m paraphrasing) “I’ve always wanted to write but just can’t sit down and actually do it. Any advice?”
His reply: “a writer writes.”
That, to me, is pure genius. Genius most often lies in taking a complex idea and making it simple. It’s all about attitude, in my opinion. If you want to write, start writing. It doesn’t have to be earth-shattering stuff. Above all, be yourself and just put something down. If you’re not happy with it, change it. If you think your story, article or blog is going nowhere, just take a break and revisit it when you’re in the mood. Don’t force it. Do it when you want to, you’ll enjoy it more, and the result will be more pleasing to you and your readers.
“See it all, till tomorrow”
How to Defeat the Blank Page
by Harry on Apr.11, 2009, under Writing
There are two things a writer dreads: writer’s block and a blank first page. Both are inevitable, one is an enemy that only nature can fix, but one is a precipice that is scalable, if you are armed with the right attitude and mental equipment.
The Zen of Communication, Part 1
by Harry on Apr.09, 2009, under Language
What is Zen? Zen is a branch of Buddhism that combines spiritual philosophy with living life in a natural and spontaneous way. In what way does an ancient spiritual philosophy relate to modern written communication? Well, let’s explore how…
Why do, or should, we write? Well, we write to communicate ideas. OK, so why not just talk to someone face to face? Answer: it’s not always possible, the main reason is geographical location. The written word circumvents this.
The written word not only makes it possible for us to write a letter, e-mail, text, or internet content, it lasts longer than the spoken word. For sure, “words are dodgy things”, as they can be misinterpreted and taken out of context, but the written word is historically more reliable than the spoken word, partly because it can be referenced from source material.
It’s up to historians and keen amateurs to offer interpretations of meaning. Letters and documents hundreds of years old still exist today in personal and national archives and libraries. They are studied by scholars and the layman day-in, day-out. Every word is pored over and analysed for meaning and intent. If the Internet Archive is anything to go by, doesn’t this mean that every word we write for the internet or any other print medium carries significant weight, not only for the present but for posterity? Of course it does.
So where does Zen come in (what does it mean anyway?) and how does an ancient philosophy fit in with writing in the 21st century…?
“See it all, till tomorrow”
