Television isn't what makes
inspired writers, honesty is
This week I am writing to my fel
low soldiers, the writers. The ones
who spend so much time clicking
away at the keys, trying to make
sense of the world using the simplest
method of all.
I'm not just talking to the profes
sionals or the people who get paid to
write, I'm talking to anyone who
writes — be it the ones who write po
ems, essays, love letters, songs or press
statements.
I've taken my fair share of writing
classes — the ones that teach about
the bare bones of technical jargon,
subject-verb agreement, dependent
clauses and fragmented phrases.
Those ideas and tools are useful, no
doubt. But what I'm interested in is
the soul of writing.
You see, 1 have been thinking
about the whole notion of writing
lately, its effects on life, its message,
reasoning, cause and purpose. For
most of us (or them, depending on
whose side you're on), the written
word has taken a back seat to the stale
images and placid content of moving
colors in succession (in other words,
television) and I have to say, that is
rocking me.
Writing seems to stir the dark cor
ners of the mind and heart and some
times makes us feel sad, terrible, raw
and spent. When I think of writing,
my blood pressure starts rising, the
heart starts palpitating, my muscles
tense up and I want to get it over with.
Sometimes it tears me down. But in
that process, a new form takes shape
within me. One that is stronger, more
fluid and easily able to cope and un
derstand. It relates to what psycholo
gist Carl Jung calls the Shadow. Loose
ly defined, these are the things we
pack away: the unconscious that we
don't like to share with others, or even
accept ourselves.
Jung once wrote, "Nothing is so apt
to challenge our self-awareness and
alertness as being at war with oneself.
One can hardly think of any other or
more effective means of waking hu
manity out of the irresponsible and
innocent half-sleep of the primitive
mentality and bringing it to a state of
conscious responsibility."
I like to think I relish in the art of
challenge. 1 write. 1 collapse. 1 begin
again. 1 live in my shadow quite often
and let it envelope me. I thrive on it,
because it makes me stronger.
Carl Sundberg
Reasoning with madness
If more people tapped their inner
resources, we may all be a little better
off. We might just find that we care
every now and then. Jung also noted
the Shadow follows us all. Personally,
I'm just beginning to recognize it,
study and embrace it. But don't be
afraid of it like so many others.
Forget what society tells you and
write what challenges you, what
scares you, and what you lock away.
This is the key to explosive and pow
erful writing. Yet many people will
never accept this. They will tell you to
write what everyone else wants to
hear. "Write for the audience," the
stale professor says. These people are
simple goons who will go to the
grave having contributed nothing.
Pass them like a swerving old man on
the freeway.
Most importantly: Read, damn it,
READ! With every book you ingest,
your writing will get sharper, more ac
curate, stronger and deeper. Trust me
— mine has. I hated reading when I
was younger (except comic books, of
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course). Now I can't stop. I read like 2
to 5 books a week, no joke.
Start reading things you really like.
Eventually, you'll find yourself read
ing anything you can get your hands
on. I tell you what, books are my sanc
tuary because they let me get my head
straight (or out of it sometimes). They
teach me things, they inspire me, and
they put life in perspective like noth
ing else in the world can, except for
exotic or exceptional life experiences,
which are few and far between.
For me, it's all about the written
word. Learn to love it, or forget being
a writer. If you can't enjoy a good
book or learn to crap on the bad ones,
you won't ever leave the hack phase.
Oh, and one last thing: Stop
watching television. It really does rot
your brain and give you sick ideas
about how life should work. It's just
a commercial projector. Nothing
more. The entertainment function
has been lost somewhere between
the Subway and Old Navy ads. It's
used for brainwashing and program
ming. It's rotting America's soul every
waking minute, making us con
sumers, making us victims and ad
dicts who are stupid and cranky. It is
the perfect drug indeed. What other
way can you describe it? What other
device has the potential to make us
sit for hours on end doing nothing,
saying nothing, thinking nothing and
never once stepping outside to see
the sun? Television. Plain and simple.
Bum it to the ground and write some
thing. You gotta start somewhere.
Contact the Pulse columnist
at carlsundberg@dailyemerald.com.
His opinions do not necessarily
represent those of the Emerald.
o
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