Always Learning

There is a new television program called THE CRAFTSMAN, and it features Eric Hollenbeck, a master woodworker who has been honing his craft for over 40 years.  

He sometimes says things that are common sense, but rarely said aloud.  Such as, it took a long time to get good at what he does, and that his product is never perfect..."the tree was perfect."  The man also says he's still improving in his art.

I'm in my 50s now, so 20 years younger than Hollenbeck, but I can't remember a time when I wasn't working at being better at writing.  When I was younger, I'd sometimes be frustrated when I would read someone else's work that I knew was better than my own.

Obviously, I still find writing better than my own, and often, but I don't get frustrated anymore.  I don't get disheartened by rejections, either.  This is not to say I've grown numb to the experience; I have not. It's like Hollenbeck says, my writing will never be perfect.

Those who know me, also know I love data.  I wasn't a math kid, but there is something about data analysis that really speaks to me, and while points of data can be fascinating...nothing beats a trend.  An observable, quantifiable, valid trend.  

While I know my writing isn't perfect, and I'm surrounded by people who write better than I, or get more awards than I, or fewer rejections than I do...the trend is a good one.  I can read my work from 20 years ago, and see that it has improved since then.  Looking at short stories from 10 years ago, I scratch my head, and think, "I can fix this," and get to work.

The trend, since I was very little, has been one of improvement in my writing.  

The scary bit?  The trend in my cognitive function is going the wrong way.  I have to make lists!  Not just in my writing, but for just getting normal stuff done!  When did that happen?  With my writing, I have to go back and read so much more often.  I used to be able to hold an entire novel-in-progress in my head.  Now, I go into the next room and, upon getting there, I have to pause and think about why I went in.

I know it's the normal process of my brain becoming less elastic.  I don't learn nearly as quickly as I once did.  However, with writing, what my brain no longer retains, I remember through muscle memory I have acquired by having written so much.  For an obsessive writer like me, with that joy of lifelong obsession, the amount that I have written dwarfs what other people have seen.  I've written a lot of stuff.

Short fiction, essays, novels (in various genres), journalism, legislative bills, advertising copy, how-to, textbooks, screenplays, travel writing, curricula, poetry, a bit of memoir, translation, song lyrics, and of course blog entries.

With some of those types of writing I'm stronger, and with others, I am weaker.  I have been working on my screenwriting, and the generosity of others, teaching me, like screenwriter Judd Richter did last week, is something for which I'm extremely grateful.  

As long as I feel the trend is a positive one, I won't write in a panic.  I'm sure that day is coming, but I try not to panic about the impending panic.  As long as I can keep improving my writing, I'll only love doing it more. 

Once I realize that I have plateaued, I'll only speed up the pace. 

Once I realize that I'm in decline, I'll write only for me.