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When looking to improve writing, if we are honest with ourselves, the valleys of our ignorance in the craft stretch far longer than the slim but steep ridges of our conscious competence. We could despair and let the howling wind of doubt hurl us to the valley floor, collapse into the raging torrent that cuts it and drown among the rapids. Or we could abandon the “safety” of our laureled summit by our own volition and cross the valley, methodically, to reach a higher pinnacle. The descent and re-ascent will crack our bones and try to freeze the very deepest coal of conviction from our hearts. But coals are kept alight by breath. As long as we breathe and keep forward and upward, this ember of will shall never fade, lighting the path of improvement as we go. And need this path of improvement be confined to writing alone?

Writing itself ranks merely as one of the many outward extensions of our very deepest cognitive and emotional essence. And so this stony path must address these at the root. Cognition’s role in producing the written word, we leave to the linguists. Suffice it to say that without a brain wired for complex communication via “language”, writing would simply elude us as an ability; rather, the emotional dimension of the writing process commands a deeper exploration.

Western civilization may hold aloft “reason” above feeling/emotion; this exemplifies just another flare of human hubris. Emotion rules the narratives of our lives, while reason merely justifies, explains, and frames them. And our lives, in the way we see and live them, unfold as narratives: from the cradle to the grave and, maybe, even an epilogue. In this way, to really write something others appreciate and enjoy, we must enjoy and appreciate the assembled letters ourselves. If we wish to draw laughter, so must we laugh at the content and ourselves. To gain the courage to etch the words of our greatest loves, fears, and aspirations into the granite edifice of external scrutiny, we cannot evade the abrasion of comfort which these tempestual emotions impart. Once we gain even a small hold on the raging bull of our deepest emotions, only then can we start writing with real power and effect.

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