Writing the Words

Posted byRebecca BuddPosted inBenjamin Franklin, Steven Wright, WritingTags:,

The Past

“I’m writing a book. I’ve got the page numbers done.”

Steven Wright

As we enter a new year of blogging, I am reminded that we are recording our personal narratives in whatever way gives meaning to the timeframe we inhabit.  The act of writing is a creative process that forges the strength from past experience and acquired knowledge with the nascent energy of an undefined and nebulous future.  It seems that writing serves as the bridge between the two realities.  Yet, all that is granted to a writer is the finite moment, which seems at times to be too restrictive for the task at hand.  This week, I want to explore the imaginative, even inspired, nature of writing.  Words have an appearance of immortality, as Benjamin Franklin once pointed out:

“If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write something worth reading or do things worth writing.”

Published by Rebecca Budd

Blogger, Visual Storyteller, Podcaster, Traveler and Life-long Learner

35 thoughts on “Writing the Words”

    1. Good question! I looked him up and he doesn’t appear to have anything lately, but I am now curious. Did you know that he was the radio voice in Reservoir Dogs?

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      3. Tarantino always puts quirky people in his movies, which could be interesting. But I refuse to devote my attention to artists whose work stirs up anger and desensitizes people to violence.

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      4. I agree with you wholeheartedly. Some call it reality; others call it artistic license, still others call it brilliant. In the end it is gratuitous violence. And I have no interest in supporting this type of endeavor. There is too much “real” violence in this world. We need to seek and embrace fairness, equality, justice and beauty. You always make my day sunshine.

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  5. I like Benjamin Franklin’s words about writing something worthwhile. But I fear if I followed that advice I wouldn’t write much.

    But then I looked back up to your words “our personal narratives in whatever way gives meaning to the time frame we inhabit”.

    I realized that what I write or what I read others writing is or was important to us at the time. It did have meaning. We may not understand the significance or even agree with the value of the content, but it was important to someone. 🙂

    So now I feel better about my ‘stuff’. lol

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    1. How well said! I have read a couple of books on our dear friend, Benjamin Franklin. Everywhere he went, he would set up a printing press to publish his pamphlets. Many of his critics thought that his writings bordered on propaganda. While we may not share Mr. Franklin’s confidence, or believe that we have the writing talent, it is important that we do write. It is a way of celebrating our lives.

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  8. That fundamental human urge for us to make some form of mark, an expression of how we feel, which has ended up in many forms, a vital one of course as you have highlighted is writing – what a gift!

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    1. Very wise words. My grandfather had a grade eight education and his father before him had less. Sometimes we forget that our ability to write came on the “shoulders of giants.” Literacy is a gift – one that frees us to explore many other avenues of endeavours. As you say, the “fundamental human urge” is to make a mark. Which brings up the question – how will the next century view our contribution – our mark?

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  9. This quote made me smile, even though I’ve read it before. I can’t imagine life without music, reading or writing, but not necessarily in that order. 🙂

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  10. Great conversation. I often think of how poor we would be without the writers of history and experience. We can add our thoughts to paper, even it only family and friends read them.

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    1. Well said – we never know who will benefit from our writing. In the end, it matters only that we wrote our story. We seem to follow the lives of “celebrities” which much more interest than our own. We need to live and record our lives as if they were best-sellers.

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