Being a writer is a difficult career- because it is based upon a form of communication that is hounded into us since we are able to talk, or at least start schooling. We all work our ways through trying to keep the cursive writing from being more descriptive to the name by trying desperately hard to stay within the lines and be fluid. Just to look over and see that another student can do it with ease.
You struggle through using a pencil, and having to constantly resharpen it because you have to keep it sharp- but then it is too sharp and it snaps on you- making you fall behind in the writing off of the overhead. Until finally the teacher deems you worthy of obtaining a Pen License. You develop a great smile and hold it as a testimant to your dedication to improvement. Then when you head to the year later, the teacher will not accept anything written in pencil, ha ha you might think about those slackers who never got their license...well ha ha back- it turns out you do not need one.
Then when you start to write in high school- they praise your creativitiy to a degree- it is all subjective you see, it sometimes gets in the way...as a friend of mine might be able to regale you about a certain creative chemistry exam. Then you win awards and people start to notice your writing- then you reach university.
It follows a similar path- it might be creative and different...but not necessarily my cup of tea. So you spend more time developing a hand of your audience and able to adapt and mold to certain situations. Unfortunately for you so do all the other students- but they usually have the upside of not necessarily having to be that creative.
Then you head into the world- most job applications want someone who is a good communication, written and oral. Yes you think, but have you considered all the other people who learnt how to write.
Unlike a doctor or an engineer or even a sound technian, a writer will always be viewed as easily replaceable. I mean they can write, and I can write...why do I need to pay them. The writer will also have a bunch of people offering suggestions for improvement- as will other professions- but nobody knows more of writing than someone else. Writing is communication, a collection of symbols we are all aware of, and most of us can form some meaning from them.
So pity the writer who writes all day, fearful that someday he will be replace and just like that, be gone with neither titter or tat. Support your writers because they might just be able to help you with your writing.
Dale Stam
Feel free to comment, and tell us whether you got your Pen License.
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