When I was a kid, I used to write a lot. I wrote diaries daily to snapshot my thoughts and articles weekly to express my opinions. Remember that this was the time when computers were rare and when I could only write using pens and papers.
Nowadays, I have much better writing equipment yet I am much less prolific. I have been thinking to write an article for a long time. Unfortunately, I have been procrastinating, and my last post has been a few years ago. I also observed similar trends among my close friends. I feel this is a contemporary trend. When was the last time you write a love letter, a travel diary? People write much less than before, and even when they write, most of the writings are utilitarian, i.e., they convey facts but no emotions. I am talking about the writings that force authors to squeeze every emotion and creativity from the bottom of their brain to touch the audience’s soul.
There are simply so many distractions nowadays. We are such a deeply connected species — smartphones feel like our external body parts and everyone is online 24×7. Smartphones are great for killing times but unfortunately not so good tools for writers. Computers are much more useful for report writing, which requires extensive searches of information, but less so for pure literature writing. Besides, more and more smartphone applications are grabbing people’s attention by dividing information into small pieces to fit people’s fragmented calendar. As a consequence, people are accustomed to superficial thinking and spend less time on meditative writing.
It doesn’t mean that there is nothing we could do. A simple anti-dose for this is more self-discipline. We are lured but thankfully are not forced to live in a fragmented way. Just block your calendar, lock your phone and pick up your pen from today. This is not a perfect solution but it works if executed well. Good luck and enjoy being a writer!
Jing Conan Wang
2019/11/23
Jing Conan Wang 