A Guide to Ink Masterpieces

God is in the Ink (An Introduction to Writing)

NOTICE: Please remember this is an editorial introduction to my how-to blog. These are strictly opinions are in no way meant to bring offense to other members. As mentioned before, take what you want and leave the rest from this blog. God is not to be taken as the one and only God or multiple gods of any religion but to suggest spirituality and the connections we have to this world as writers and as individuals. It is simply meant to get you thinking and the juices flowing.

The mark of a true writer is their ability to find God in their writing. We all begin as individuals seeking out ourselves; and just like any other religion, we transcend into something greater. We write to understand ourselves and the world around us. We find God to be in everything that is a part of this world, regardless of whether or not we can see it with our own eyes.

Writing is a religion. We all develop a spiritual and intense connection to it. We feel a deeply rooted love for it and every time we write, we feel that spiritual connection grow stronger. It is a never ending pursuit to obtain the sense of being close to Fates, the Higher Being, to God. No, I do not speak of the Christian, Jewish, or Muslim god. I speak of no religion except for that of writing. For those who may misunderstand this concept, it is the god within ourselves and everything living. We create and destroy; we find justice for the righteous and seek punishment to the evil; we are Cupid and Athena the Goddess of War. We are the ever present voice in your head.

What is religion by definition?
1 : a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices
2 : a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith

There is the birth of our pieces which we so lovingly hold dear to us. The moment I speak of is when the brainstorm begins: the cause. What is the next thing we do? We pick up that pen or pull that keyboard close to begin the feverish frenzy that can often appear to be possession. The words come flooding out of us that it feels as the we are linked directly to the source, and we are. That muse is standing nearby, gently cheering us on as we continue our journey. We write, and then we rewrite, and we rewrite some more, all the while sticking to our beliefs and principles. We format and edit, pick out our fonts, print out our paper, save our memory sticks, and sip our coffee through the entire practice of writing. When we are finally finished, we log onto our accounts and rush to post it for other writers to read.

It would not be a lie if I said that most of us go to this site more often than most Christians attend church. This place and its members are important to us like our own friends and family. Writing is vital part of who and what we are. I speak for myself when I say that it made me a forgiving and compassionate person. After spending so much of my time reading and creating characters with conflicts, it becomes very personal to me. These characters come to life and I often find their tragedies and successes lead me to encourage others as I do for my characters. Reading and writing was what allowed me to understand people and the world around me. I would still be socially awkward and a bitter, apathetic individual today if I never picked up my first book. Not everyone agrees with me, but no one can deny that the way we work is the way the faithful do as well.

The first step to writing a short story is belief. If you do not believe in yourself or in what you are creating, then it will not survive. It will shrivel up and fade away into oblivion.