“Writing is a great thing, but it is excruciating to actually write.” I think you’re a little rough on us writers, Nishant! The same flow and focus of making art can come to somebody with a pen in hand, using it to write words. I myself didn’t feel whole until I found a way to do both in my work. And what the hell, dude? Your posts are filled with lovely words words words. I hope you enjoy writing them at least a little!
Haha, that's a good point, Peter. I concede I absolutely do enjoy writing and hence keep coming back to it. 😝
It is lovely to be in that flow. But I find that state of flow is quite difficult to achieve, even after achieving some degree of skill with writing. I have not found it that way with art at all!
Let me put it another way - I have spent hours agonizing over my writing, sometimes producing only a couple of hundred good words after multiple hours. Every post I write goes through 3 edits. But every minute of drawing only gives me more joy, and all of it produces something with which I am happy, even if the end result is not my best work. SneakyArt has never needed editing.
I'm pleasantly surprised there are other writers here (hello, Melanie, hello, Peter) who share the love of writing.
And yes, Nishant, your posts are filled with lovely words words words. It was your words that first drew me to your newsletter. I was like, who's this sometimes melancholy, sometimes whimsical sounding guy?
I love both writing and drawing. Before I stumbled upon drawing, I used to sing songs (not literally) about the joy of writing. Even editing, as tedious as it is, is a joy.
In fact, I wrote this in 2017. It's my love letter to writing. Ah, back then, I was younger in all sense. So yes, you can cringe away reading this.
~~~
Dear writing,
I love you. I didn't realise how much I love you until I find myself thinking about you every day.
I think of you when I'm driving.
I think of you when I'm walking.
I think of you when I'm eating.
I think of expressing my love for God through you when I'm worshipping.
I think of you when I read.
I think of you when I'm about to go to sleep.
I miss you when I'm not with you.
But, when I finally have the time to be with you!... I find all these pent-up desires have turned me into a pAranOid mEss—I greedily want to write about everything at once. I worry about writing things that people wanna read. I fret, I frown, I Google, I read my own blog, and of others. I do a lot of other things, anything but being with you.
Back when I was a naive writer, I write—often, freely.
Heart to paper. Heart to screen.
Then came—10 ways to drive traffic to your blog, 1000 ways to find your niche in blogging; along with endless e-courses that promise blog stardom.
And my love for you got complicated.
Tainted.
Unworkable.
So, I left a piece of my heart with you—and walked away.
But like a love addict—I found myself coming back to you, the cursor on the blank screen, blinking at me; taunting my inability to reach out to you.
This toxic love tangle went on for 1095 days...and I want it to stop.
I want to return to the love that was once unadulterated, unafraid, pure, passionate.
Will you have me back?
Yours.
~~~
I think it's absolutely fine if, at times, you shift more love to your drawing than your writing. Just do it with all your heart. We can see that in your work anyway. 😀
At times, I find writing excruciating, but I also find times when I reach that state of flow writing, and when I do it's just joyous. It has to do with perfectionism, I think, and the way that I tend to judge the quality of my writing as I go. That often kills the joy. Perhaps you are judging your writing more harshly than your art? I hope writing isn't excruciating too often for you.
Maybe that's true, Melanie. I do hope there are others who enjoy it more than me and more often.
As I said, I feel a great joy after *having written*. But the entire time I am writing, I am aware of where I wanted to take it, and by how much I am falling short. But considering that the period after writing a piece is always going to be much longer than any time spent actually writing, the balance is that I am quite happy with the exercise. 😇
“Writing is a great thing to have done. On the other hand, art is joyous in the moment.” That hit home! Almost to the extent that I feel like I’m wasting my time/being idle when I’m painting. I tend to push my art into the background, as if it is some kind of childish past-time, simply because of the innate enjoyment I feel while doing it. As if everything one does ought to be some kind of difficult endeavour. Great piece, thanks.
“Writing is a great thing, but it is excruciating to actually write.” I think you’re a little rough on us writers, Nishant! The same flow and focus of making art can come to somebody with a pen in hand, using it to write words. I myself didn’t feel whole until I found a way to do both in my work. And what the hell, dude? Your posts are filled with lovely words words words. I hope you enjoy writing them at least a little!
Haha, that's a good point, Peter. I concede I absolutely do enjoy writing and hence keep coming back to it. 😝
It is lovely to be in that flow. But I find that state of flow is quite difficult to achieve, even after achieving some degree of skill with writing. I have not found it that way with art at all!
Let me put it another way - I have spent hours agonizing over my writing, sometimes producing only a couple of hundred good words after multiple hours. Every post I write goes through 3 edits. But every minute of drawing only gives me more joy, and all of it produces something with which I am happy, even if the end result is not my best work. SneakyArt has never needed editing.
I can absolutely see the care you lavish on your writing. Good for you for taking it so seriously.
I'm pleasantly surprised there are other writers here (hello, Melanie, hello, Peter) who share the love of writing.
And yes, Nishant, your posts are filled with lovely words words words. It was your words that first drew me to your newsletter. I was like, who's this sometimes melancholy, sometimes whimsical sounding guy?
I love both writing and drawing. Before I stumbled upon drawing, I used to sing songs (not literally) about the joy of writing. Even editing, as tedious as it is, is a joy.
In fact, I wrote this in 2017. It's my love letter to writing. Ah, back then, I was younger in all sense. So yes, you can cringe away reading this.
~~~
Dear writing,
I love you. I didn't realise how much I love you until I find myself thinking about you every day.
I think of you when I'm driving.
I think of you when I'm walking.
I think of you when I'm eating.
I think of expressing my love for God through you when I'm worshipping.
I think of you when I read.
I think of you when I'm about to go to sleep.
I miss you when I'm not with you.
But, when I finally have the time to be with you!... I find all these pent-up desires have turned me into a pAranOid mEss—I greedily want to write about everything at once. I worry about writing things that people wanna read. I fret, I frown, I Google, I read my own blog, and of others. I do a lot of other things, anything but being with you.
Back when I was a naive writer, I write—often, freely.
Heart to paper. Heart to screen.
Then came—10 ways to drive traffic to your blog, 1000 ways to find your niche in blogging; along with endless e-courses that promise blog stardom.
And my love for you got complicated.
Tainted.
Unworkable.
So, I left a piece of my heart with you—and walked away.
But like a love addict—I found myself coming back to you, the cursor on the blank screen, blinking at me; taunting my inability to reach out to you.
This toxic love tangle went on for 1095 days...and I want it to stop.
I want to return to the love that was once unadulterated, unafraid, pure, passionate.
Will you have me back?
Yours.
~~~
I think it's absolutely fine if, at times, you shift more love to your drawing than your writing. Just do it with all your heart. We can see that in your work anyway. 😀
Wait. Writing loves you? I thought it loved me! I guess we’ll have to share that love.
Sharing is loving! 😉🙃
At times, I find writing excruciating, but I also find times when I reach that state of flow writing, and when I do it's just joyous. It has to do with perfectionism, I think, and the way that I tend to judge the quality of my writing as I go. That often kills the joy. Perhaps you are judging your writing more harshly than your art? I hope writing isn't excruciating too often for you.
Maybe that's true, Melanie. I do hope there are others who enjoy it more than me and more often.
As I said, I feel a great joy after *having written*. But the entire time I am writing, I am aware of where I wanted to take it, and by how much I am falling short. But considering that the period after writing a piece is always going to be much longer than any time spent actually writing, the balance is that I am quite happy with the exercise. 😇
“Writing is a great thing to have done. On the other hand, art is joyous in the moment.” That hit home! Almost to the extent that I feel like I’m wasting my time/being idle when I’m painting. I tend to push my art into the background, as if it is some kind of childish past-time, simply because of the innate enjoyment I feel while doing it. As if everything one does ought to be some kind of difficult endeavour. Great piece, thanks.