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Sunday 9 May 2010

Julie: My wall quote canvas

*Copy*

As Jack Thorne mentioned in the previous post, he and I once had a discussion about our favourite quotes on the theme of writing. In return for his being so candid and revealing his to you, I decided to do the same.

So here's the quotation I shared with him a while ago.

It's from the writer Thomas Mann [probably best known for the novella Death In Venice] and it states that:

"A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people".

I'd told Jack that I liked those words so much that, one day, I was going to put them on a canvas and hang it on my office wall. And, true to my word ......

*Paste*
.......... I did: The only issue I have with it is that when other people see it ... I worry if being judged for recognising myself as a 'writer'.It's the same sort of thought process that I think Dina Wakley touched upon when she introduced herself in her guest post yesterday : "I'm Dina. An artist. Sort of". Sort of. When, to the rest of us there's no doubt about it.
I just need to brave and say: I'm Julie. I write stuff.

Therefore I am a writer ...... and I like this quote because that's exactly how I feel when I sit down to write something ... ...... because working with words and shaping them into sentences, paragraphs, articles, blog posts and stories means something to me ....

.... and that's why it's so hard to do. Because ..... if it meant nothing to me I could just sit down and not care what came out when I wrote ... ... .... but, you see, the thing is .... I'm a writer .... and writers should care about what they write.

Just in case you wanted proof that it actually hangs on my wall, there's it is in my office at the moment .... please bear in mind that I've been busy planning a 2.5 day blog party and haven't had much free time to tidy things ....... ;)

Thanks for reading what I wrote.

Jx

6 comments:

RosieBird said...

This is the first time I have read your blog (I am taking a tentative step into the world of blogging), and this is the first proper post I've read that hasn't been written by a friend. It was a good choice because you have completely and utterly summed up exactly how I feel about myself and writing and my relationship with writing and the terrifying sentence: 'I am a writer.'

I shall be following you from now on. In the blog sense of course, not a creepy stalkerish sense. Promise.

Julie Kirk said...

Many thanks for your lovely message Rosie - I really appreciate you taking the time to tell me.

I wish you al the very best in good old blogland. Welcome!

Julie :)

Lizzie said...

I totally agree with your statements about "being a writer", Julie! There is nothing wrong, pretentious or vain in stating what is true. Others will say "I am a Computer Programmer", "I'm a Father", "I am a Nurse" etc, etc... so why is it so hard to say "I'm an Artist.", "I am a Writer"?
There seem to be more issues attached to these two "professions" - more expectations and more pre-formed opinions, as to what being an artist or writer actually means.
Thing is, everyone knows that a "Computer Programmer" writes computer programs; a "Nurse" looks after people's health; "A Father" - well he's someone's dad, isn't he?
But an Artist? A Writer? Hmm.... like Leonardo Di Vinci? or Andy Warhol? or Tracey Emin? Like Dickens? or Tolstoy? or Tolkein? or Enid Blyton?
It's rather complicated and no-one is entirely sure what really Defines an Artist or a Writer... it's messy...
If you feel that you are an Artist or a Writer, then you surely are.
Stand up and be counted - we see you!

Natasha said...

Love the canvas!

Clair said...

You're Julie. You write. Enough said.

alexa said...

Love that sentence "I write stuff". Neat, and in a nutshell. Good to see your lovely canvas on the wall too! Love the wooden blocks ...

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