ஏன் எழுத வேண்டும் ?

எல்லாரும் எழுதுகிறார்கள் என்று நாமும் ஒரு blogspot ஆரம்பிச்சாச்சு. ஆனால் நமக்கு எழுதத் தகுதி இருக்கிறதா ? எழுதுவதனால் என்ன பயன் , அதுவும் நம்ம எழுதுவதனால் என்ன பயன் ..என்ற கேள்வி இருந்து கொண்டே இருந்தது .வாசிப்பு எவ்வாறு ஒரு அனுபவமாக திகழ்கிறதோ , எழுத்தும் அதுபோலவே என்று அறிந்திருந்தாலும் , எழுதுவதற்கு இது மட்டுமே காரணமாக இருக்க கூடாது என்ற எண்ணம் உண்டு. ஏன் எழுத வேண்டும் என்று Paulo Coelho சொல்லும்பொழுது எளிதில் சமாதானமடைய முடிகிறது .

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புகைப்படங்கள் என்னுடையவை .

The act of writing – the reader

“There are two types of writers: those who make you think and those who make you dream” says Brian Aldiss, who made me dream for such a long time with his science-fiction books. Thinking about his sentence and my work, I decided to write some columns on the subject. In principle I believe that every human being on this planet has at least one good story to tell his neighbor. What follows are my reflections on some important items in the process of creating a text.

The reader

Above all else, the writer has to be a good reader. The kind that sticks to academic texts and does not read what others write (and here I’m not just talking about books but also blogs, newspaper columns and so on) will never know his own qualities and defects.
So, before starting anything, look for people who are interested in sharing their experience through words. I’m not saying: “look for other writers". What I say is: find people with different skills, because writing is no different from any other activity that is done with enthusiasm.
Your allies will not necessarily be those that everyone looks on with admiration and says: “there’s nobody better”. It’s very much the opposite: it’s people who are not afraid of making mistakes, and yet they do make mistakes. That is why their work is not always recognized. But that’s the type of people who change the world, and after many a mistake they manage to get something right that will make all the difference in their community.
These are people who cannot sit around waiting for things to happen before they decide on the best way to narrate them: they decide as they act, even knowing that this can be very risky.
Living close to these people is important for writers, because they need to understand that before putting anything down on paper, they should be free enough to change direction as their imagination wanders. When a sentence comes to an end, the writer should tell himself: “while I was writing I traveled a long road. Now I can finish this paragraph in the full awareness that I have risked enough and given the best of myself.”
The best allies are those who don’t think like the others. That’s why, while you are looking for your companions (not always visible, because meetings between the reader and the writer are rare), trust your intuition and don’t pay any attention to others’ remarks. People always judge others using the model of their own limitations – and at times the opinion of the community is full of prejudices and fears.
Join those who have never said: “it’s finished, I have to stop here". Because just as winter is followed by spring, nothing comes to an end: after reaching your objective, you have to start again, always using all that you have learnt on the way.
Join those who sing, tell stories, enjoy life and have happiness in their eyes. Because happiness is contagious and always manages to keep people from being paralyzed by depression, loneliness and troubles.
And tell your story, even if it’s only for your family to read.

The pen

All the energy of thinking is eventually shown in the nib of a pen. Of course, here we can substitute nib by ballpoint, computer keyboard, or pencil, but the nib of a pen is more romantic, don’t you think?
To get back to the theme: words eventually condense an idea. Paper is just a support for this idea. But the pen will always remain with you, and you must know how to use it.
Periods of inactivity are necessary – a pen that is always writing ends up losing the awareness of what it is doing. So let it rest whenever possible, and concern yourself with living and meeting your friends. When you return to the business of writing, you will find a happy pen with all its strength intact.
Pens have no conscience: they are an extension of the writer’s hand and desire. They serve to destroy reputations, make us dream, send news, trace pretty words of love. So always be clear about your intentions.
The hand is where all the muscles of the body, all the intentions of the person writing, all the effort to share what he feels, are concentrated. It is not just a part of his arm but an extension of his thought. Hold your pen with the same respect that a violinist has for his instrument.

The word

The word is the final intention of someone who wishes to share something with his neighbor.
William Blake said: all that we write is the fruit of memory or the unknown. If I can make a suggestion, respect the unknown and look there for your source of inspiration. The stories and facts remain the same, but when you open a door in your unconscious and let yourself be led by inspiration you will see that the way to describe what you have lived or dreamt is always far richer when your unconscious is guiding the pen.
Every word leaves a memory in your heart – and it the sum of these memories that form sentences, paragraphs, books.
Words are as flexible as the tip of your pen, and they understand the signs on the road. Sentences do not hesitate in changing course when they make a discovery, when they spot a better opportunity.
Words have the same quality as water: they go around rocks and adapt to the river bed, sometimes turning into a lake until the depression has filled up and they can continue their journey.
Because when words are written with feelings and the soul, they do not forget that their destination is the ocean of a text, and that sooner or later they have to arrive there.
Part II

In the previous Warrior of Light Online I commented on reading, pens and words. Below are some final remarks on the topic.
First of all, let me repeat what I said before: everybody has a good story to tell, and it is part of the human condition to share a little of our experience with others. You might ask me: and what about the publishers? How do they publish these experiences?
The truth is that nowadays there are many platforms for this (such as the Internet or the local newspaper, for example) and there will always be someone interested in what you write. So, even if that someone did not exist, write for the pleasure of writing.
As the pen traces out words on the paper, your anguish disappears and your happiness remains. For this to happen, it is necessary to have the courage to look deep inside yourself, disclose this to the outside world, and be even more courageous to know that one day whatever you write could (and should) be read by somebody.
And what if it’s something very intimate?
Don’t worry. Thousands of years ago, Solomon wrote the following words: "Whatever has been is that which will be; And whatsoever has been done is that which will be done; And there is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9).
In other words: if thousands of years ago there was nothing new, just imagine now! Our feelings of happiness and anguish are still the same, and we should not hide them. And even though there is nothing new under the sun, there still remains the need to translate all this for ourselves and for our generation.
Jorge Luis Borges once said that there are only four stories to be told:
A] a love story involving two people
B] a love story involving three people
C] the struggle for power
D] a journey.
Even so, throughout the centuries men and women have continued to retell these stories, and it’s time you did the same. Through the art of writing you will come into contact with your unknown universe and eventually you will feel like a far more capable human being than you thought you were.
The same word can be read in different ways. For instance, write down the word “love” a thousand times and each time the sentiment will be different.
Since letters, words and sentences are traced out on paper, there is no reason to feel tense. The hand that writes eventually comes to rest, and the heart of the person who dared to share his or her feelings smiles.
If you pass by a writer who has just finished a text, you will feel that he has an empty expression on his face and that he seems distracted.
But he – only he – knows that he has risked a lot, managed to develop his instinct, maintained his elegance and concentration during the whole process, and can now afford to feel the presence of the universe and see that his action was just and deserved. His closest friends know that his thought has changed dimensions. Now it is in touch with the entire universe: he goes on working, learning all the positive things that his text has yielded, correcting any mistakes and acknowledging its qualities.
Writing is an act of courage. But it’s worth taking the risk.

Us and the critics

Read biographies: nobody escapes unhurt, no matter what their activity may be. From James Joyce, who was considered a pervert by the respectable “The Times”, to Orson Welles, the genius of the cinema, whom Umberto Eco classified as a mediocre person.
Read on. Because writers write, readers read, and critics criticize. Inverting that order would at the very least be unadvisable. However, practically every day I receive some e-mail from people who feel personally attacked when they see something negative about me in the press.
Although grateful for the solidarity, I explain that all this is part of the game. I have been criticized ever since I wrote “The Alchemist” (“The Diary of a Magus” passed relatively unnoticed by the press, except for reports that spoke about the author but hardly ever referred to the contents of the book).
I have seen many writers enjoying tremendous public success but when they receive the inevitable stoning from the critics, they tend to follow one of two directions. The first is not managing to publish any more books: this was the case of “Perfume” by Patrick Sussekind. At the time, his editor (who is also mine in Germany) published two full pages in the local newspapers, one with the criticism loathing the book, the other with the book-agents saying how they loved it. “Perfume” became one of the biggest bookstore successes of all time. Then Sussekind published a collection of short stories, two books he had written before his big success, and then left the scene.
In the second case, writers become intimidated and try to please the critics at their next launching. Susanna Tamaro enjoyed tremendous public applause (and an avalanche of attacks from the critics) for “Follow your heart”. Her next book, “Anima Mundi” was anxiously awaited by her admirers, then she changed the simple, marvelous poetry of the original title for something so complex that she lost her faithful readership and ended up not pleasing the critics either.
Another example is Jostein Gaarder. “Sophie’s World)” enjoyed fantastic success because he was able to handle the history of philosophy in a direct, agreeable manner. But neither the critics nor the philosophers liked the book. Gaarder began to use complicated language and ended up abandoned by his readers - and still detested by the critics.
It would seem from the paragraphs above that I too have begun to pass judgment. Why? Criticizing is so easy – the hard thing is to write books.
In “The Zahir”, the main character (a famous Brazilian writer) says that he can guess exactly what will be said about his new book, which has still to come out: “Once again, in these troubled days we live in, the author makes us flee from reality”. “Short sentences, superficial style”. “The author has found the secret to success – marketing”.
Just like the main character in “The Zahir”, I am never wrong. I made a bet with a Brazilian journalist, and I hit the nail on the head.
Let me end this column with a sentence by Irish playwright Brendan Behan:
“Critics are like eunuchs in a harem. Theoretically they know the best way to do it, but that’s as far as they get.”
Please, gentlemen critics, do as I do: don’t take the sentence above as a personal offense!