This is a guest post by Loren Blinde of Writing Power. Loren teaches college English and helps people enrich their lives by improving their writing. Feel free to contact her at loren@writingpower.net
Everything was going according to plan this time. I had arranged myself in a comfortable sitting position, my arms hanging at my sides. All was quiet. A soothing voice in my head chanted, “one…two…three…hold…now, exhale…one…two…three….”
And then it happened.
As though some cognitive telegraph had suddenly come to life, my mind was filled with thoughts. Character ideas. Plot ideas. Argument ideas. Questions to be answered, and answers to be questioned.
Nevertheless, I was resolute. Come back later, I told them. I am meditating. I ignored the ideas now spooling from my imagination into my memory and urged my mind to remain focused.
After a few minutes, however, the calming voice stopped counting and began to investigate the thoughts marching by. “Some of these could be good,” she said, peering at the mental ticker tape. “You should write about them.” Annoyed that the voice in my head had lost focus too, I began to count out loud.
I was doubled over, coughing and sputtering, when I realized two important truths about myself.
Although I deeply admire many of its tenets, I am not a Buddhist. My passion is writing, and I find great joy each day in learning and teaching about the writing craft. In a way, my interest in Buddhism and my interest in writing are close cousins. Buddhism’s philosophies provide a powerful conceptual approach that, when applied to the practice of writing, can greatly increase a writer’s effectiveness and confidence.
Buddhism appeals to many people because it presents a radically empowered way of life. While many religions focus on one or many god figures, Buddhism focuses on humanity. Moreover, The Buddha taught that anyone could achieve enlightenment.
How does this aspect of Buddhism relate to writing? Simply put, writing is a skill that anyone can learn to improve. You do not have to have a pre-existing talent or aptitude for writing in order to do it well. All you have to do is take control of your writing by consistently applying principles of moderation and diligence.
Admittedly, taking control of your writing is not something many people can do overnight. You must work to develop your writing skills through practice and mindfulness. But you can do it.
Buddhism is centrally concerned with the meaning of existence; the search for meaning is also the crux of the writer’s endeavor. A writer does not write only for himself or herself because the point of writing is to communicate. Whether other people actually read what you have written is immaterial: you are always writing for an audience, even if the audience is only your later self.
As the writer, each piece you write constitutes a little world of meaning, with your main point at its center. You are the creator of this paper world, and the power to determine its meaning resides with you. However, as the saying goes, with power comes responsibility. You have a solemn responsibility to your readers.
You must do everything you can to help your readers understand your meaning, and a great way to do this is to make your writing easy to read. Here are some tips to help you increase your prose’s readability:
Just as it is for the Buddhist, the writer’s guiding principle must be compassion. Above all, a writer must show compassion toward his or her reader. Treat a reader the same way you would treat an honored guest in your home: try to anticipate his or her needs and fulfill them.
What are your reader’s needs? To answer that, think about what you value when you read someone’s writing: clear expression, interesting ideas, transparent intention, thoughtful organization, judicious examples, respectful and amiable tone. Show the reader that you value his or her time by constructing your writing with your reader in mind.
As a Buddhist progresses along the Noble Eightfold Path, he or she strives to remove illusion and see things as they really are. The idea of detachment is equally important in writing, and many writers struggle with it. It is difficult not to take criticism of one’s writing personally, for example. Moreover, even if we are able to take criticism in the right spirit, we still may not be able to see our writing as it really is. Nevertheless, a writer must pursue this goal relentlessly in order to improve his or her writing.
To detach yourself from your writing, remember that the goal of writing is to communicate. After all, if we can’t see what our writing is communicating, how can we evaluate whether it is communicating effectively? Here are some tips for detaching from our writing so that we can engage it as it really is:
If there is one overarching piece of advice that a Buddhist and a writer would probably agree on, it’s this: be patient. Don’t be greedy for progress. There is much to learn along the path.
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We each have more innate gifts than we realize. I like the friendly reminder that we can learn throughout our journey, not simply after we have arrived at a hypothetical destiantion.
Fantastic post, Loren. Albert, thank you for introducing us to Loren!
I have always felt that writing is a spiritual practice. I think if no-one ever read my blog, I’d still be writing it, for some of the exact reasons that Loren talks about. Writing, to me, is about connecting to my higher wisdom, about practicing mindfulness, and authenticity – and finally, detachment. I love hitting that “post” button … and then letting it go.
It’s always fascinating what comments come back. Sometimes, those comments tell me that I didn’t make my point the way I intended to, and this teaches me a great deal. Sometimes the comments reflect my point even better than the article itself, and that always thrills me.
I love the idea of anticipating the reader’s needs and practicing compassion – I’d never thought of that. I will definitely incorporate those principles more consciously.
Thanks again,
Andrea Hess
Thanks very much for the wonderful feedback! I loved putting this post together, and I thank Albert very much for giving me the opportunity.
Andrea, your point about using a post’s comments to improve — but more importantly, to learn — is great. Not a day goes by that I don’t wonder whether my students could possibly be learning as much from me as I am learning from them.
Liara, your comment that we each have an abundance of gifts is profound. By working to improve mindfulness in an area like writing, we are honoring those gifts.
Cheers,
Loren
Thanks Loren.
I love that you see writing as so much more than ‘just a technology’ – so often dedicated to selling stuff. There are many in the blogosphere who recommend copywriting as the model to follow.
Your appoach has so much more depth. Many heartfelt thanks.
Hi, Evan —
Thanks so much for the kind words. You expressed perfectly what made me start the Writing Power website — I wanted to consider writing from a variety of angles, because I believe that writing better is inseperable from thinking better and living better.
Cheers,
Loren
Hi Loren,
What a magical post. Albert you are a legion for introducing Loren to me and for this I am truly grateful.
As 2008 is the year I absorb myself 100% into my writing I have realized that all inspiration flows through me. The ideas and clever thoughts are not mine. I simply feel a strong connection with a topic and write away surprising even myself. Simplicity is always at the back of my mind along with the mantra in my head – I write to inspire and connect.
Loren I look forward to heading over to your web site right now and exploring your gift even more.
Thanks again Albert. You rock!
Peace, love and chocolate
Carole
http://www.thehealthylivinglounge.com
Great post!
Thank you guys, glad you enjoy the guest post, and thanks of course to Loren for writing it!
Thank you Loren, you have elucidated many aspects of writing that I had been stuck on. I was actually thinking today that I should look into some writing tips, since I just started my own blog and voila, here you are. Thank you for sharing you insight and wisdom. =)
http://jonathanmead.com – Authenticity, Clarity, Balance
Loren and Albert, I really enjoyed this article. I agree with everything that Andrea said. Loren I have learned that the things that I teach the best are often those that I needed to learn for myself. Thanks.
As a writer and relatively new blogger, I found this post fantastic. Thanks Loren. The movement of our true nature cannot be denied, can it? Whatever IT wants is what we will do. The little “me”, the monkey mind, can say whatever it wants. But we move the way we are moved. You got it, Loren. Thanks again!
A very interesting article there Loren. Was fantastic seeing you folding both compassion and the 8 fold path into the process of writing. Hadn’t ever thought of it in those words.
Thanks for guest posting on urbanmonk, and thanks Albert for hosting.
Peace,
Wade
http://themiddleway.net
Thank you for all your kind words everyone. It was definitely my pleasure to have Loren here. I was having a long week and she saved my life with a top quality guest post.
Thank you, everyone, for your generous and supportive words. Your feedback is incredibly important to me as I try to get my blog to spread its wings. I am honored that you think I’m on the right track.
Albert, you have a wonderful community here. I am so grateful that you gave me the opportunity to engage with your readers!
Many thanks,
Loren
Albert, thank you for having Loren stop by. I think that her site is better than ProBlogger when it comes to making lasting improvements to a person’s site. Anybody can explain how to optimize ad placement, but you have found a person who explains how to add value to the part of a site that truly matters.
Loren, I greatly admire the way that you make a comparison between Buddhism and writing. Finding common ground between two seemingly unrelated topics is a skill that, even by itself, makes writing worth all of the trouble of learning how to write in the first place.
I’m also certain that you noticed how much I enjoy your site, with how many comments I have already left.
Hey Adam! Loren is an amazing blogger and writer, isn’t she? I don’t think I’ve ever read anyone combine spirituality and technical skills the way she does. She definitely deserves all our support
Wow. Loren, I am truly impressed! Not only have you masterfully combined the concepts from two quite distinct areas (Buddhism and writing) to one homogeneous piece of excellent advice; your words are also crystal clear, easy and fun to read. And very inspiring, too. Thank you!
Heh, again, she’s great isn’t she? Thanks for the kind words, I’ll pass it on to her
Thank you all so much for your generosity of spirit. Anytime I feel frustrated with something I’m writing, I have only to think of this wonderful feedback to get back on track.
A thousand thanks,
Loren
thank you..i started blogging recently..i always had a fear that my writing skills are not that good.. but after reading this post I improvised and finally now many readers find my blog interesting.. i am writing this comment now even though i read this post long ago just after seeing results..gr8 advice..once again thank you.
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