Markley's Blog

From The Vault

Why do I write?  I love to tell stories, paint pictures with a swipe of my pen instead of the stroke of a brush. (Okay, pen swiping in 2016 doesn’t happen all that much with me, but it makes for a good analogy). When I write, I am exposing my inner self in order to entertain, inform, or express myself because I enjoy writing. That’s what painters do.  You often hear people say things about a portrait like, you can see the anger in each stroke… this was his blue period…in the gentle pastel colors you can see his mourning. It is all an interpretation.

In today’s world, writers open themselves to interpretation also.  Unfortunately, it’s to the “politically correct police” who do the interpreting.  We now have to be careful what comes forth from the emotions that entangle our heart, visions that invade our mind, and feelings that come deep from within our soul. It’s what drives our fingers to the keyboard. 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech The idea of freedom of speech can be questioned, We decide to take a stand, share our thoughts which come from those entanglements, invasions, or searching’s. Our words are dissected, scrutinized, reviewed, sifted, or purged.  Not for writing style, proper sentence structure, length, or proper grammar.  It’s to try and dissect the intent of the writer’s heart, and after such examination, a label is placed.

Prejudice, bigot, homophobic, racist, chauvinist, liberal, conservative, warmonger, you name it.  We have issues… we hate this person… we love guns… we hate animals. Freedom of speech is free, once it gets sanitized.  Can we use the word censorship?

I think so.

The advantage of having a personal blog is that I can share my thoughts, take a stand, be exclusive with my words, and skip the sanitization.  That doesn’t mean I won’t be labeled.  What it does mean is I have my freedom.  My personalized right to tell stories, paint pictures and inform; my way; not being afraid of an editor saying, change this, delete that.  They have enough work editing my grammar.

When you read a story you get immersed in the scene and your heart races at the tension or suspense the protagonist is dealing with.  You start caring, loving, hating hoping, and anticipating the turn of each page.  A writer introduces and exposes a little of themselves with each word they add to their story.  That’s the joy of a writer – to create a piece of work that causes a reaction.

Writers love to get reactions.  When I hear someone laugh out loud, when that was the reaction I was hoping to achieve, I get excited at my accomplishment.  When I sit with other writers and read their latest work, I get inspired, influenced, motivated, and humbled.

I can be a little bit of an egomaniac.  I love to get the reaction I hoped for, but sometimes the adoration is an adrenalin rush I also enjoy.  I need to keep fighting between those emotions.  I am humbled every time the adulations come, especially from mentors.  I love to hear when readers share their reactions.  Again, it’s a rush getting the desired reaction I hoped for.

Writing is artistic expression.  An expression that should not be sanitized, diluted, dissected, or interpreted for it’s content. Writing is a form of speech that is protected by the First Amendment.   I want my writing to be enjoyed without the fear of being labeled.  But alas…if I am true to myself, write what I feel, expose the inner person, extol freely, be the true artist I desire to be, that egomaniac will rear its head and my freedom of speech will be practiced; the label that may be placed -may it be no more than balderdash.  I will write!