Rational Insanity
Rearing to write
What exactly is our own individual reason when asked why we want to write? Many of us would say that we write out of the passion for writing, but how sincere are we with this reason? Often we are confused with writing for the passion of it and writing because we want to be recognized because of our writing. As the multi-awarded and premier poet Edith Tiempo said during her keynote for the 2006 Palanca Awards, 'writers who write to win in the Palanca are not writers.' From what Tiempo said we can easily conclude that true writers do not write for recognition, money, or any other worldly reason; writers write simply because of the burning passion and love for the craft. Writing in itself is very thankless. Most writers write for themselves and not for any other person, but because of the inherent passion for the craft, recognition of the pieces comes merely as a fringe benefit. Again, writing for yourself is no excuse to ignore the conventions of good writing. It is always good to listen to the masters and other senior writers who take time out of their high-browed creative moments to comment on what we, fledgling writers come up with. For many writers, the only means of improving is by asking other, more knowledgeable writers, and submitting to the tutelage of these skilled artisans.
Meritage Press Winner Marcel Milliam once said, 'when you write with the intention to please somebody, you will ultimately fail, because when you write your intention should be to write because you want to please yourself.' The satisfaction that a writer gets from writing comes from the understanding of the conventions of the craft. Without knowledge of these conventions, a writer will like what he has written but will be like someone who likes to eat leche flan but does not know why he/she likes to eat the stuff. This is the reason why a single poem has to go through hundreds, even thousands of revisions by the poet him/herself before the poet is finally satisfied with his/her work. As writers we have no obligation to anybody but to ourselves, the social responsibility of a writer comes naturally, and a good writer always knows this responsibility by heart, even as he/she writes simply because he/she loves to write, and for no other reason. Another mentor of mine, Mam Merlie Alunan said that writers are lonely people. I don't really know what she meant by this but somehow I felt what she said. For many, such words would have been interpreted on the surface, but I somehow knew that despite a writer's loneliness he/she is happy because pain is a writer's fuel for writing. The loneliness that one feels as a writer is a loneliness that awakens the soul and fills it with a fervor that allows the pen to paint prisms, flowers, promises, and whispers. "To endure is all" said the great poet and writer, Maria Rilke. These words capsulize what a writer has to face when remaining steadfast in his/her craft. Emotions, especially pain enrich a writer's work. One can be exceptionally good in the form of the craft but perfection in writing requires heart. I know of a writer who is quite good in poetry and who knows poetic conventions to the letter, but his work lacks the emotion and the passion that one looks for in poetry – the passion and emotion to involve other readers and to create a sense of propriety for the poem regardless of who reads it.
Once a writer puts his words on paper, the piece belongs to the world; it no longer belongs to the writer him/herself. This is the great sacrifice that every writer should go through; passionately writing for oneself and consequently letting go of what has been written because the written word becomes part of the mystical body of literature that circles the world like unseen plasma. Writing is very much like conception, childbirth, and rearing the child until it is able to stand on its own, then finally, letting go. Once a piece is surrendered to the world, the writer ceases to be its owner. While authorship remains with the author, the writer loses control over his written work because it will grow at the pace literature grows, and it will evolve according to how the world evolves. Writing is not just an art, it is an act of self-sacrifice and personal surrender. What fuels every writer to keep on writing despite the thanklessness of this craft? Asking this question would be like asking yourself – why do I have to keep on breathing when I already want to stop being alive…
Be rational; be insane…every once in a while!! TTFN!
I love you all! Byers!