Why do you write?
You make sacrifices to write. You give up time you could spend with friends and family. You give up time you could be playing facebook games.
You might take big risks to write, like living on less money than most of the people you know.
On a bigger level, why does anyone follow their dreams?
I'd like to share a video I made with the talented filmmaker Katie Rowland. It's about writing. It's about following your dreams. It's about finding your voice.
Check it out (it's not even two minutes). If it resonates with you, or you think it would resonate with a friend, share it. The world needs dreamers who believe in their dreams enough to follow them.
The words to the poem:
It's funny how time lengthens when you don't like what you're doing.
It's funny how time goes by so quickly when you're living your dream.
Monday, I worked a year at a restaurant.
Tuesday, I got a job for a few years at a law firm. Twenty dollars an hour to make copies and coffee.
On Wednesday, I did accounting. A dozen years stacking numbers and dollar signs into neat piles.
Thursday was twenty years making widgets at the factory. It was the longest day of my life.
What am I doing here? When will this week end?
On Friday, someone gave me a typewriter. I typed my dreams in black and pasted them to the walls until they were spackled with ink.
Friday turned to May. I typed. May turned and my hair grew grey.
I was born, I found, to type.
When the end came, I gave the typewriter away.
So someone else could live, as I did, their life in a day.
PRACTICE
So here's the question: Why do you write? What does it feel like to write? What do you get out of it?
Spend fifteen minutes writing a poem about why you write. If you'd like, share it in the practice. I'm sure it will encourage the rest of us.
Inspiring! Great job Joe. What made you think of writing this?
Thanks J.
I was given this beautiful typewriter as a birthday present. It’s theatrical, the metal hammers dancing and smacking the white paper leaving letters. I wanted to make my typewriter a star.
Inspiring! Great job Joe. What made you think of writing this?
Thanks J.
I was given this beautiful typewriter as a birthday present. It’s theatrical, the metal hammers dancing and smacking the white paper leaving letters. I wanted to make my typewriter a star.
Really, really excellent, Joe and Katie! I’m inspired. I write because I can’t imagine not doing it. I write to express myself, which may be the most important thing I do in this life.
Yeah Jeff!
Really, really excellent, Joe and Katie! I’m inspired. I write because I can’t imagine not doing it. I write to express myself, which may be the most important thing I do in this life.
Yeah Jeff!
Joe Bunting
joebunting.com
Yup – it’s inspiring. Be interested to see what Jeff’s crowd would think of it (he types).
Thanks Seth.
Yup – it’s inspiring. Be interested to see what Jeff’s crowd would think of it (he types).
Thanks Seth.
Hey Joe! This is all so exciting. I decided to start a blog (onedeliberatelife.blogspot.com), and then I decided to start following your blog, and now I am excited to share your content on my blog 🙂 It is fun to be writing again. I think it’ll take me some time to feel comfortable with it, but I have joined the WordPress Postaday2011 challenge, so I’ll be getting a lot of practice! I have a feeling your challenges will come in handy in the months to come. I miss you and really hope you’re doing well!
Yeah RO! I’m so excited to see what you write 🙂
We can be blogger friends.
Oops, onedeliberatelife.wordpress.com…I used to use blogspot, haha. Thanks Joe!
Hey Joe! This is all so exciting. I decided to start a blog (onedeliberatelife.blogspot.com), and then I decided to start following your blog, and now I am excited to share your content on my blog 🙂 It is fun to be writing again. I think it’ll take me some time to feel comfortable with it, but I have joined the WordPress Postaday2011 challenge, so I’ll be getting a lot of practice! I have a feeling your challenges will come in handy in the months to come. I miss you and really hope you’re doing well!
Yeah RO! I’m so excited to see what you write 🙂
We can be blogger friends.
Oops, onedeliberatelife.wordpress.com…I used to use blogspot, haha. Thanks Joe!
My mind is a whirlwind of dreams and schemes;
Spinning and twirling about, absent rhyme.
These thoughts seek escape from the chaos within,
Perhaps through some portal of mine.
First means of escape comes quickly discovered
As ideas find their way to my tongue
The distance was near and the words start to form
But expressions aren’t easily sung.
Ideas that were aimed to be beautifully said
Are awkward and crudely adorned
It seems the distance between brain and my mouth
Leaves no room for clarity formed.
The goal of these word-dreams continues to be
The path of expression and life
With passion they flow through my arms and my hands
And find true release as I type.
The keys are small stages of actors and plots
As fingers paint scenes with each word
If not for my typing and writing each thought
My story would never be heard.
I like the idea of expressing yourself verbally first because the “distance was near.” That’s a fascinating insight.
And the idea that increasing the distance between your brain and the tool for self-expression would create more clarity is too.
This is a cool passage, almost a reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s, “All the world’s a stage”:
“The keys are small stages of actors and plots
As fingers paint scenes with each word”
This is a great practice tdub. So good that I would continue to re-write it and try to publish it somewhere. Although you might ditch the rhyme. Personally I’m not a big fan of rhyming poetry these days and you’ve got a quite a few slant rhymes here.
was ist a slant rhyme, herr bunting?
A slant rhyme is a rhyme that isn’t perfect, adorned and formed, for example, which has assonance (which means the vowels rhyme) but no consonance (the consonants don’t match).
Sorry for being technical. Does that make sense?
no worries. that makes sense. danke!
Okay, I just came across this today. (I forgot to check the box when I posted). Anyway, thanks for the feedback. I don’t really know much about poetry and when I attempt to write it, I often fall into this rhyming pattern. So, I have a couple of questions for you: How the heck can I re-write this now that I have these stupid rhymes in my head? How important is meter to poetry? Do I need to find a meter and stick with it or is today’s poetry non-metrical? Lastly, I don’t have a clue as to where to get something like this published, any suggestions or resources you could direct me to? Thanks!
To rewrite, pick out a couple lines that you think really capture the theme of the poem, then rewrite the whole thing around those few lines. It’s hard to ditch everything you’ve written, but you’ve got to.
Try what Paul Willis does, let it sit on your desk for a month and then look it over, make some edits, and let it sit again. I’ve done that before.
Send it to me when you’ve rewritten it a couple times and we’ll talk about publishing.
My mind is a whirlwind of dreams and schemes;
Spinning and twirling about, absent rhyme.
These thoughts seek escape from the chaos within,
Perhaps through some portal of mine.
First means of escape comes quickly discovered
As ideas find their way to my tongue
The distance was near and the words start to form
But expressions aren’t easily sung.
Ideas that were aimed to be beautifully said
Are awkward and crudely adorned
It seems the distance between brain and my mouth
Leaves no room for clarity formed.
The goal of these word-dreams continues to be
The path of expression and life
With passion they flow through my arms and my hands
And find true release as I type.
The keys are small stages of actors and plots
As fingers paint scenes with each word
If not for my typing and writing each thought
My story would never be heard.
I like the idea of expressing yourself verbally first because the “distance was near.” That’s a fascinating insight.
And the idea that increasing the distance between your brain and the tool for self-expression would create more clarity is too.
This is a cool passage, almost a reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s, “All the world’s a stage”:
“The keys are small stages of actors and plots
As fingers paint scenes with each word”
This is a great practice tdub. So good that I would continue to re-write it and try to publish it somewhere. Although you might ditch the rhyme. Personally I’m not a big fan of rhyming poetry these days and you’ve got a quite a few slant rhymes here.
was ist a slant rhyme, herr bunting?
A slant rhyme is a rhyme that isn’t perfect, adorned and formed, for example, which has assonance (which means the vowels rhyme) but no consonance (the consonants don’t match).
Sorry for being technical. Does that make sense?
no worries. that makes sense. danke!
Okay, I just came across this today. (I forgot to check the box when I posted). Anyway, thanks for the feedback. I don’t really know much about poetry and when I attempt to write it, I often fall into this rhyming pattern. So, I have a couple of questions for you: How the heck can I re-write this now that I have these stupid rhymes in my head? How important is meter to poetry? Do I need to find a meter and stick with it or is today’s poetry non-metrical? Lastly, I don’t have a clue as to where to get something like this published, any suggestions or resources you could direct me to? Thanks!
To rewrite, pick out a couple lines that you think really capture the theme of the poem, then rewrite the whole thing around those few lines. It’s hard to ditch everything you’ve written, but you’ve got to.
Try what Paul Willis does, let it sit on your desk for a month and then look it over, make some edits, and let it sit again. I’ve done that before.
Send it to me when you’ve rewritten it a couple times and we’ll talk about publishing.
Beautiful video and poem, great job!
I first started writing to register my thoughts and then be able to get back to them, much like a journal.
Then, a friend of mine convinced me to start blogging. What a joy it has been for me.
I identified myself with the video except for the typewriter part. Although I have owned one a while ago, I migrated to the digital world since I bought my first Palm device, back in 1999. Since then, all my notes and writings are done in a digital device, even quick notes.
But the charm of the typewriter is undeniable.
You’re right, it’s all about the charm. I find that people who actually had to use typewriters for work or school hate them. My generation (the computer generation) finds them exotic, a relic of a more “focused” and sensual era.
Beautiful video and poem, great job!
I first started writing to register my thoughts and then be able to get back to them, much like a journal.
Then, a friend of mine convinced me to start blogging. What a joy it has been for me.
I identified myself with the video except for the typewriter part. Although I have owned one a while ago, I migrated to the digital world since I bought my first Palm device, back in 1999. Since then, all my notes and writings are done in a digital device, even quick notes.
But the charm of the typewriter is undeniable.
You’re right, it’s all about the charm. I find that people who actually had to use typewriters for work or school hate them. My generation (the computer generation) finds them exotic, a relic of a more “focused” and sensual era.
love the video. love the copy.
Thanks Salley.
love the video. love the copy.
Thanks Salley.
I write to escape reality.
I write to create my own world,
one where only my characters live.
I write to become my characters.
I right to feel what my characters feel,
to know what they know,
to do what they do.
When I write I become someone more than myself.
I write to learn.
Thanks Temira. I write to escape reality for a moment so that I can see reality for the first time, more intense and full of color.
I write to escape reality.
I write to create my own world,
one where only my characters live.
I write to become my characters.
I right to feel what my characters feel,
to know what they know,
to do what they do.
When I write I become someone more than myself.
I write to learn.
Thanks Temira. I write to escape reality for a moment so that I can see reality for the first time, more intense and full of color.
senior year as a hoya
the final stretch before i
crossed the threshold to
the real world
my last chance
so i detour instead of finishing
in 3.5 semesters i take
my time. in the fall
i took acting which gave
me enough gumption to
audition for a production
in the spring
of sorkin’s a few good men.
and i actually get cast.
it was a play before
it was a basic cable tv staple, written by
a writer’s writer which makes
me all the more grateful
that i got to play my parts
first as a navy captain (isaac
became ivy), the protagonist’s boss
but mostly as the court reporter
who you won’t find in the cast
of either script
the typewriter came
later during the rehearsal
process but because
i was so method
the internet says it’s more
like a piano than a typewriter
so i would mash multiple keys
on my invisible stenograph
wondering how the dissonant
looking letters translate to chords
of legalese, just as foreign a
language as the shorthand
my character, written in by
the director (God rest her soul) with
artistic license (thank you,
Jesus, for multicultural casting),
capturing the story of two men
on trial for doing what was expected
of them — the right thing was
the wrong thing and the wrong
thing was the right thing —
which intertwines with the story of a young
man struggling to decide whether to emerge
from the shadow of his father’s legacy or
revel in his birthright.
he chooses to shine, to reveal
his own brilliance,
adding value to the inheritance.
if i hadn’t dropped con law II
i would’ve failed it but i don’t
regret the detour, which feels
prophetic in retrospect
so i suppose i write in
the same way i try
to live my life – with the flow,
as honestly as possible,
trying not to miss out
even on the minutiae
even if it takes a little while.
Mmm… that’s good Sara. Love the ending. And I love how you take a seemingly indirect route to telling this story. Instead of going for the jugular you take a roundabout road, which is very good. I would have liked it better if you started to draw the two subjects closer earlier, to make your fascinating insights into the story of a Few Good Men (one of my favorite movies) more relevant.
You also had some very funny moments, like this:
“because I’m so method”
YES!
And this:
my character, written in by
the director (God rest her soul) with
artistic license (thank you,
Jesus, for multicultural casting),
Love the parentheticals.
And this:
(isaac
became ivy)
Nice.
duly noted. thank you!
i’ll have to go back and do the backstory exercise.
all in all, thank you for this amazing forum!
also. i am so glad a few good men is one of your favorite movies, too!
senior year as a hoya
the final stretch before i
crossed the threshold to
the real world
my last chance
so i detour instead of finishing
in 3.5 semesters i take
my time. in the fall
i took acting which gave
me enough gumption to
audition for a production
in the spring
of sorkin’s a few good men.
and i actually get cast.
it was a play before
it was a basic cable tv staple, written by
a writer’s writer which makes
me all the more grateful
that i got to play my parts
first as a navy captain (isaac
became ivy), the protagonist’s boss
but mostly as the court reporter
who you won’t find in the cast
of either script
the typewriter came
later during the rehearsal
process but because
i was so method
the internet says it’s more
like a piano than a typewriter
so i would mash multiple keys
on my invisible stenograph
wondering how the dissonant
looking letters translate to chords
of legalese, just as foreign a
language as the shorthand
my character, written in by
the director (God rest her soul) with
artistic license (thank you,
Jesus, for multicultural casting),
capturing the story of two men
on trial for doing what was expected
of them — the right thing was
the wrong thing and the wrong
thing was the right thing —
which intertwines with the story of a young
man struggling to decide whether to emerge
from the shadow of his father’s legacy or
revel in his birthright.
he chooses to shine, to reveal
his own brilliance,
adding value to the inheritance.
if i hadn’t dropped con law II
i would’ve failed it but i don’t
regret the detour, which feels
prophetic in retrospect
so i suppose i write in
the same way i try
to live my life – with the flow,
as honestly as possible,
trying not to miss out
even on the minutiae
even if it takes a little while.
Mmm… that’s good Sara. Love the ending. And I love how you take a seemingly indirect route to telling this story. Instead of going for the jugular you take a roundabout road, which is very good. I would have liked it better if you started to draw the two subjects closer earlier, to make your fascinating insights into the story of a Few Good Men (one of my favorite movies) more relevant.
You also had some very funny moments, like this:
“because I’m so method”
YES!
And this:
my character, written in by
the director (God rest her soul) with
artistic license (thank you,
Jesus, for multicultural casting),
Love the parentheticals.
And this:
(isaac
became ivy)
Nice.
duly noted. thank you!
i’ll have to go back and do the backstory exercise.
all in all, thank you for this amazing forum!
also. i am so glad a few good men is one of your favorite movies, too!
I LOVE THIS VIDEO SO MUCH! It’s so beautiful! Love the poem! Love the settings! Love the use of light! Love the music!
I LOVE THIS VIDEO SO MUCH! It’s so beautiful! Love the poem! Love the settings! Love the use of light! Love the music!
Loved this, Joe. You guys did a great job. Can’t wait to see what else you create.
Thanks Jeremy.
Loved this, Joe. You guys did a great job. Can’t wait to see what else you create.
Thanks Jeremy.
Joe, I love the poem and the video. You capture the idea of flow so well by mixing days and years.
Katie did an amazing job as well. I was never distracted from the words. Everything told the story as one.
Here’s the poem I wrote last night:
Sometimes I write, thinking of you,
I tried to talk, but it didn’t do.
The world is big and my brain is small,
Finding the right words can take so long.
Sometimes I write, hoping to bring,
Light to your life and hope for today.
I see the world different than you;
Take my words, one head now filled with two.
Sometimes I write, trying to see,
Deep down inside, the real me.
Feelings on paper, thoughts in ink,
Is that who I am. I need to think.
Sometimes I write, filling the hole,
The screen my canvas, the words my soul.
No one can say, my wants my needs,
But fingers to type and eyes to read.
I like the theme of the first lines of every stanza, “Sometimes I write…” because you’re right, sometimes we write for different reasons. To communicate, to thrill, to express, to explore.
I’m with Joe in loving the variation of reasons. There’s great truth in:
I see the world different than you;
Take my words, one head now filled with two.
Thanks for sharing how you see it Ryan. You’re in my head 🙂
Joe, I love the poem and the video. You capture the idea of flow so well by mixing days and years.
Katie did an amazing job as well. I was never distracted from the words. Everything told the story as one.
Here’s the poem I wrote last night:
Sometimes I write, thinking of you,
I tried to talk, but it didn’t do.
The world is big and my brain is small,
Finding the right words can take so long.
Sometimes I write, hoping to bring,
Light to your life and hope for today.
I see the world different than you;
Take my words, one head now filled with two.
Sometimes I write, trying to see,
Deep down inside, the real me.
Feelings on paper, thoughts in ink,
Is that who I am. I need to think.
Sometimes I write, filling the hole,
The screen my canvas, the words my soul.
No one can say, my wants my needs,
But fingers to type and eyes to read.
I like the theme of the first lines of every stanza, “Sometimes I write…” because you’re right, sometimes we write for different reasons. To communicate, to thrill, to express, to explore.
I’m with Joe in loving the variation of reasons. There’s great truth in:
I see the world different than you;
Take my words, one head now filled with two.
Thanks for sharing how you see it Ryan. You’re in my head 🙂
Love the video! Subscribing and taking a shot at the 15 min poem:
Why I Write
Those moments when you look out the window and feel so connected,
And then look away and feel so alone.
Those moments when you feel you can change the world,
And then request from yourself evidence of such grandeur, falling short.
Those moments when you feel the power of words,
And then lament the loss of language.
All those moments, the great dichotomy of the everyday,
The battle to redeem existence,
The surrender to simplicity,
The hate,
The love,
The future,
The past,
It all bears repeating, recording.
Those moments, and then those, make us what we are.
And when we write and read each other,
We become so much more…
That is why I write.
Mmm… the battle to redeem existence. I like that. And this:
And when we write and read each other,
We become so much more…
It’s very true. Writing, more than any other art form, I think, is an entering into the other. It changes us.
Love the video! Subscribing and taking a shot at the 15 min poem:
Why I Write
Those moments when you look out the window and feel so connected,
And then look away and feel so alone.
Those moments when you feel you can change the world,
And then request from yourself evidence of such grandeur, falling short.
Those moments when you feel the power of words,
And then lament the loss of language.
All those moments, the great dichotomy of the everyday,
The battle to redeem existence,
The surrender to simplicity,
The hate,
The love,
The future,
The past,
It all bears repeating, recording.
Those moments, and then those, make us what we are.
And when we write and read each other,
We become so much more…
That is why I write.
Mmm… the battle to redeem existence. I like that. And this:
And when we write and read each other,
We become so much more…
It’s very true. Writing, more than any other art form, I think, is an entering into the other. It changes us.
Baller status Joe! I enjoyed that immensely. I love the idea of spending years doing something you don’t like in a single day and then spending a lifetime doing something you love in that same span of time. Thanks
Thanks Kevin 🙂
Baller status Joe! I enjoyed that immensely. I love the idea of spending years doing something you don’t like in a single day and then spending a lifetime doing something you love in that same span of time. Thanks
Thanks Kevin 🙂
thanks Joe for this it is cool to see the passion continue elsewhere. an hidden and almost forgotten art of writing..
Sometimes when the day does not make sense
And time has passed by without notice
I find I have missed out on something of importance
An important headline of the days happenings,
A good conversation with a long standing friend.
Sometimes even a telephone call with a distant companion,
So now I right things down, I write things down so I notice more,
Like how a person motions when they are passionately speaking
Or how a red and orange leaf falls ever softer through the wind
Settling peacefully to the ground. Or sometimes I now notice
The people passing by some with face of focus and others
Others looking for a wonder why, while seeking answers in the hosts above
Other times I like to step out of the mayhem and thank the Lord he made it all.
I find as I write that my hidden expressions become a reality on a page
That I can share with people that which I hid so well
I write to let people know what is happening in the life of me, behind the Grecian mask.
I write so my heart can speak what my mouth cannot. That is most important of all.
This is gorgeous Richard. I loved it.
What’s a Grecian mask?
Lovely
thanks Joe for this it is cool to see the passion continue elsewhere. an hidden and almost forgotten art of writing..
Sometimes when the day does not make sense
And time has passed by without notice
I find I have missed out on something of importance
An important headline of the days happenings,
A good conversation with a long standing friend.
Sometimes even a telephone call with a distant companion,
So now I right things down, I write things down so I notice more,
Like how a person motions when they are passionately speaking
Or how a red and orange leaf falls ever softer through the wind
Settling peacefully to the ground. Or sometimes I now notice
The people passing by some with face of focus and others
Others looking for a wonder why, while seeking answers in the hosts above
Other times I like to step out of the mayhem and thank the Lord he made it all.
I find as I write that my hidden expressions become a reality on a page
That I can share with people that which I hid so well
I write to let people know what is happening in the life of me, behind the Grecian mask.
I write so my heart can speak what my mouth cannot. That is most important of all.
This is gorgeous Richard. I loved it.
What’s a Grecian mask?
Lovely
Joe, I would love to be able to use your video you have here on this blog. I have been writing for a while now, about 3 1/2 months, but still feel like a fledgling. And I know quite a few others that are on the same blog as I that are new to the game that could use this as a little inspiration. Thanks for inspiring me to keep on.
Please do, Mike!
Joe, I would love to be able to use your video you have here on this blog. I have been writing for a while now, about 3 1/2 months, but still feel like a fledgling. And I know quite a few others that are on the same blog as I that are new to the game that could use this as a little inspiration. Thanks for inspiring me to keep on.
Please do, Mike!
I write because the pen pulses in my hand
The blank page beckons
Words form in my waking dreams
And they won’t leave me alone
I write because the pen pulses in my hand
The blank page beckons
Words form in my waking dreams
And they won’t leave me alone
When I’m Weak
Love is my strength
When I’m strong
Love is my weakness
When I’m alone
Love is my companion
When I feel crowded
Love is my tolerance
When I’m stressed
Love is my relief
When I’m Indifferent
Love is my passion
When I’m off balance
Love is my center
When I’m centered
Love is my essence
When love fills my heart
And overwhelms me
l write
Because Writing
Is Love
I don’t like what I see
I don’t like what I hear
I don’t like what I write
I don’t like what I read
The cursor blinks
I stare and I yawn
My brain is on freeze
My finger pushes and I pause
It’s always pretty
It’s always ideal
The lies consume me
I can’t know what’s real
It’s flooding my mind
Thoughts, dreams, ideas and feelings
The document opens
My mind wonders where’d it go?
They’re loud. They’re many.
They babble on and babble on
Come one come all let’s give out awards
Be the loudest never the brightest
Once the words blink in
It never stops does it
I’m just following it
I may guide it but it draws me in
The urge to get angry the push to get upset
You people are so stupid why is everyone this way?
Misspell words broken grammar fallacious arguments
Someone pay attention to me
Sometimes the words surprise me
It was never intended for this to happen
I’m a voyeur, I’m not suppose to see this
But I can’t, I continue, I need to know.
My teeth grits while I read
They always sound smarter while in your head
Who wrote this? An idiot.
I nod my head. I’m an idiot.
Click edit. Remove some words.
Add some words. Revise this fragment.
This line is awkward. This action won’t work.
I read, it’s bad. Click save.