Being a writer is a choice

According to Haruki Murakami, a Japanese author I am very fond of, there are two types of writers. One is the in-born talented writer who does not need any effort in writing and producing something creative and the other is the diligent/hardworking writer who despite not having the talent is very determined in producing a work of art such as essays, novels, poems and other written output.

I consider myself as the latter. In fact, I am an amateur writer. My interest in writing began in high school when I joined our campus publication. Since then, I am striving so hard to write anything under the sun sometimes to please an audience and sometimes to just please myself.

Being creative in writing takes a lot of time and practice. You have to have peers to whom you will write and consult your output with. You have to have friends who are also passionate about writing and who will criticize your work. You don’t have any excuse in not starting to write because all media for writing are available. You can either write on your journal about the feelings you feel today or you can start a blog and discuss anything be it a political, social, or cultural thought or anything actually. With my experience in writing, sometimes the things we are emotional writing about are nice to read and to look back to. Writing about someone’s emotion or feeling releases the aspiring writer’s artistic side.

When I was in college, I became a head writer of a musical-comedy variety show and stage production. The experience was tough since we had to write something that will make a particular audience laugh. My writing buddy then was our director. There were nights that we were left by ourselves and are obliged to finish something (a sketch, a monologue, a spoof, a bit, etc.). Thankfully, we were able to mount the show. We were able to finish the full program a few days before the event itself. My point here is sometimes, you can squeeze the creative juices of a writer under time pressure.

It will also help bring out the creative side of the writer if he or she exposes him/herself in different forms of art and literature. I believe in the rule that to be able to write something, you need to read about that something. A good writer is an avid reader because the things he or she reads help him/her generate new ideas (although there are no original ideas). It at least help the writer create something out of the different literatures he/she has read.

Watching TV, watching films, watching soap operas (but I highly suggest you try foreign TV series not that I look down on our local TV shows) also help a writer develop his or her creative side. Even watching the news helps because it gives you ideas in developing a plot especially if you are an aspiring writer for TV or film.