Monday, November 30, 2009

You all had my job

One or both of my jobs may seem atypical, but you all have had them, too.

We all start off as writers and cartoonists (cartooning, of course, comes first). Only the reckless few stick with it beyond lower elementary (cartoonists) and college (writers).

In other words, in our youth, we all scribble. But the relative majority of us never experience d
octoring, or financial consulting, or astronauting, or just about any job besides the one we have chosen (or the one that we unintentionally settled into).

Authoring is not only one of the few "jobs" everyone gets some practice in early on but also one of the few jobs that many who are accomplished in other fields will eventually come back to, often in a biographical capacity.

Pro athletes write tell-alls. Politicians, chefs, CEOs, and dog whisperers do, too. But few of them also record a song,
perform with the ballet, star in a movie, or formulate a perfume.

The only one of the popular and/or fine arts that almost everyone in the public eye (or so it seems) dabbles in at some point is the writing of a book.

The ever-increasing draw of the "non-famous" memoir (and its cousin the blog) means that more than ever fame is not exclusively the catalyst of writing about oneself but also, if done well, the result.


With so many non-"professional" writers (whether famous or civilian) getting published, it may seem to dilute the specialness of writing. Yet it also speaks to the survivalist urge to commit words to paper.

To some, writing is an exercise in vanity. To all, it's a shot at immortality. But to true writers, it's actually akin to all of those other endeavors that most never get to.

Writing is like composing a melody in that a certain flow of words can compel the reader and even the writer himself to dance (if only in their heads).

Writing is like performing before the camera, only the writer plays every role.

Writing is like engineering a fragrance, hoping to attract others by beauty great or terrible, yet intangible.

Writing is the best of all words.

That is something that remains special no matter how many give it a go.

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