Friday, April 23, 2010

Short Answer

For me, writing has always been an object of dread and attraction. In public school, I didn't mind taking tests, as long as the questions were true/false or multiple choice. (The math problems were OK too.) I was a little edgy with fill-in-the-blank and short answer, but essay questions were the real bane for me. I can learn the material, but good lord, don't make me form coherent sentences.

But I've also felt that people who can write are possessors of great virtue. I'd like some of that virtue for myself; I just wish it weren't so difficult. And most writers will say, hey, it's difficult for me too. Yes, I answer, but the reward for your difficulty is something pleasing or even wonderful. I labor to put together a few barely coherent words. Or so it feels.

So for most of my life I avoided writing. Instead, I took up reading with enthusiasm. My favorites are the great American writers: Mark Twain, Henry James, Willa Cather, and a number of others. I've hoped that a tiny bit of their excellence might rub off on my own writing; it's sort of a Charlie-the-tuna approach.

A few years ago I decided it was time to start giving back, if I can. I'm taking a gradual approach. First I started posting comments to other people's blog entries. Instead of commenting under a pseudonym, I've used my full name. This has required me to own my words, so to speak. It hasn't kept me from making a fool of myself now and then, but it's pushed me to work out who I am as a writer.

This blog is the next step. (I also have a second blog, devoted to movies not screened in Houston, on the Houston Chronicle website.) So far I haven't exactly been a posting machine. That's all right. Maybe I'll start posting more frequently. Maybe I'll start writing a screenplay or novel instead. Most likely I'll continue to sputter along for a while.

Having pried this handful of words out of myself, I stopped to wonder how Edward Hoagland might have written on a similar subject. Sigh. I really shouldn't measure myself against such a master; I'll just be discouraged. Friends, if you've never read one of Hoagland's essays, do a little searching on the Web. Read whatever you find. You will be rewarded.