Thoughts from “On the Art of Being a Great Writer”

By John R. Hernandez, Jr.

I can remember when I first started trying to write songs and poetry (which both are kinda brother and sister), and thinking that, well, if I couldn't make my lines rhyme in some way then I shouldn't be wasting my time. It took days, weeks and months mostly, and admittedly, even years at first to settle myself down; to focus on my subjects and hone in on the underlying feelings -festering within- just busting to get out. Eventually I realized how wrong I was. All the time I was trying to force it all out instead of just letting it flow when the moments and the feelings were just right. It was like other things in my life we're crowding it all out and I realized that what I had inside needed to be pampered, to be nurtured, to be molded up here, yeah right here, where I needed to believe and trust in my imagination’s ability to help me put it all together. What I write may and will be different, so very different from all you guys and just like you I once found someone like myself -somewhere- that helped to spark my creative juices. Who knows who it may or what it may be, but, there are as many things to write about as there are stars up in God's Heavens. In the world of writing your gonna meet lots of friends, make one of your best friends your spelling and corrections application. It will bail you out the majority of the times, but never forget that it is only an addition to and in compliment with how you cultivate that part of your brain just itching to learn and grow and create. In hindsight I never turn free advice down. You know in the end it’s not so much about luck it’s about making the trip and being prepared to deal with the challenges you will likely face in the pilgrimage to being a great writer.

• Keep a pad and pencil with you at all times. In the beginning you will find yourself erasing something’s and it’s a cheap way of not wasting paper. But, I’ve found myself writing on toilet paper a few times when and if my creative juices just happen to spring forth; I never want to bottle it up and after all I may forget later on. Believe me, most of my best creations I wrote down on anything but fancy clean white sheet paper. Envelopes, envelopes and more envelopes; I would find an envelope, say from an old bill that probably went unpaid and would tell  myself here is just the place my words would love to pour themselves unto.
• Remember that in order for you to cultivate your ability to be creative you must learn to interact with both your imagination and the world around you. You must learn to tune into and develop the theme of your story. After all poetry like almost any other form of written expression follows the same path of the Who, the What, the Where and the How and often, the Why. 

Hope this helps,

Don't forget to pick up my books "In the Birth of a New Dawn" at Mark Coker's Smashwords.com

and let Mark know how much you enjoy my poetry and his website!