They say — or, at least, a lot of famous writers say — that to become a good writer, you should also read a lot.
This makes sense to me. I try to learn from whatever I’m reading — even if it’s ad copy in a magazine. Even if it’s from bad writing. At least I can learn how not to write an ad, a book, a short story.
No reading is ever wasted if you learn from it.
Continue reading “Current reads”Perhaps for the writer, beginner’s mind can begin with the notion of writing as a journey, an exploration with no specific destination in mind.
In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities,
but in the expert’s there are few.
— Shunryu Suzuki
I’ve only been at this creative writing thing for a year, but sometimes I forget that I’m a beginner. With that in mind, I’m trying to embrace and understand anew the concept of beginner’s mind. So in an attempt to wipe the slate clean, I’m going back to the beginning, or near beginning, of this writing journey by republishing a post from exactly a year ago. I post it to remind myself how much I need to still unlearn — and to remind me that I ain’t no guru.
Continue reading “Beginner’s mind and the writer”
Andrew Careaga 