Short musings

I had this thought in my head since yesterday, I think it came from something I watched on telly..maybe, possibly...I don't know, I have very short-term memory and my memory retention is close to nil these days. It may actually be fair to call me an air-head.

Ah, but I remember now. It was from the book I'm currently reading (Beautiful as Yesterday, Fan Wu). Something about a really good writing programme in Colombia.

At least I think that's Colombia...

Aaaanyway, point is, do you need to go through a programme (undergrad, postgrad, whatever) to be a good writer? Most probably not, but if I have the luxury of choosing, would I go to one? Well, not creative writing cos I just don't do creative writing, but critical thinking and writing, yes, in a heartbeat.

What makes reading someone's writing worthwhile? It's not enough that someone has a story to tell, but the story need to be told in an engaging way to capture an audience. There must be story development and not just skimming the surface of people, emotions, places...you know the gist.

Like how lecturers moan that it's not enough to teach, they have to do it in an entertaining, informative way, droners go nowhere...but that's how it is, isn't it? I've said it years ago, charisma is important, and I'm glad this particular teenage wisdom of mine still holds true (although regrettably probably quite a few won't).

But also, I think in order to write, one must have something to say...which explains my lack of blogging, I suppose, because more often than not I have nothing to say that is of importance or amusement enough to warrant a sit down and a think.

Hell, I don't bother dissecting much myself, and reading Xiaxue's longer blogs sometimes make me realise she's written well thought-out arguments, and bothered to put them in a logical sequence.

Suppose that's what writing's all about, no?

I think writing allows me to think, to piece together my thoughts, to elaborate on what I'm thinking, and to put it all in a logical order. I'm thinking right now as I type. This is the random thought in my mind right this second.

I wonder if this is the thought process of most people, or do they think first, and then put it down and set it in stone, so to speak?

I really did enjoy the practicalities and learning of media in uni, and I really actually do miss it. I want to go back in time to savour it all once more, not that I wasn't aware the first time around. I do regret not carrying on with media studies and picked up politics instead (what was I thinking, ack!), but it's now in the past, who knows, one day, maybe I can afford to go back to school. Now I cannot, and now I have a job to go to and bills to pay and life to carry on, but I'm glad that just reading about writing ignited thoughts in my head that I haven't had in a while.

Passion, passion is something I need to find, a reason to live and a meaning of life.