Open your eyes

Raymond Carver's article, "Principles of a story", sparked a lot of fresh thoughts for me, opening my eyes to new ways of approaching writing. For me, writing has always been structural and planned out, kind of like building a house. From the beginning I was taught that there was one way to write well and this was the formula and that was that. In his article though, Carver completely dispels this way of thinking and technique of writing. The way he explained how everyone has a completely distinct voice that should be focused and drawn upon instead of masked behind the voice of a “great writer”.  After reading a famous or wonderful story, I often find myself thinking about how I should write more like them. Yet, that is completely backward. Instead, I should recognize their powerful voices and then go searching for my personal voice and really own it. As Carver says, “It is the writer’s particular and unmistakable signature on everything he writes. It is his world and no other. This is one of the things that distinguishes one writer from another. Not talent. There’s plenty of that around.” 

This world that he points out also resonated with me. I just love how he talks about a writer having his or her own world. It just seems to be an endless source of imagination, hope, wonder, and full of possibilities. Just thinking about this got me excited! Yet, with so many opportunities ahead, it still is important be treat the work that you are focused on with great care. Carver discusses how he admires this way of approaching writing. He likes to look think about the idea that at the end of the day there are only words on the page left to go off of, and it is important to appreciate and acknowledge that. I think that this article really ignited a lot of ideas about how I am going to reconstruct the way I write, and I am thrilled to explore the new possibilities ahead of me!