The intersection of art and writing
I want to appreciate good writers, but I also want to stack tires around the bad ones and set them on fire. Â Itâs a bit extravagant, and a nightmare cleanup, but it sends a clear message. Â Donât take it as bitterness. Even the so-called âsuccessfulâ writers wind up producing stacks of well-bound and branded hog-shit.
Thatâs the tricky thing about writing. Â The ego gets involved and everything runs into diarrhea. Â You donât have to be a writer to write. Â The same way you donât have to be a championship level competitive eater to put away three, lukewarm hotdogs in one inning. Â Anyone can write. Â
Thereâs no fighting the truth of it. Â No novice is going to get lucky at karaoke night and make a hit record, but occasionally someone puts together a decent caption under their instagram photo. Â Maybe itâs based on an experience, maybe they captured an emotion, or made a funny, but they did the thing. Â
Now, it doesnât mean theyâre the next Bukowski. Â They just got it right. Â And they might get it right again at some point. Â Iâm all for that. Â Writing isnât an arena of scarcity. Â Itâs going to go on forever, Iâd imagine. Â In one form of advanced emoji-driven hieroglyphics or another, the communication form will live on. Â It wonât all withstand the test of time. Â Even the good stuff will burn up â ask the librarian of the Library of Alexandria. Â
There is a difference between art and writing. Â I wouldnât propose it as two overlapping circles, but more like two stray bullets slamming together out of equal parts luck and precision. Â Even the greats struggle at making the shot consistently. Iâm not talking about a .300 batting average either. Â Iâm talking a .003. Â Three times out of a hundred for the best to ever do it. Â And thatâs a generous estimation. Â Howâs that for a slap-shot sports analogy? Â
The Mexican supplements that put pro athletes in the Hall of Fame donât exist for writers. Â Iâm not saying good writers donât use performance-enhancing drugs, Iâm just saying the recommended dose is a touch more stabby. Â A spectrum ranging from 5mg of Adderall to a mason jar filled with liquid LSD on an empty stomach â with booze shakes, liver failure, and mouth-frothing heroin overdose falling somewhere in between. Â Factor in depression, insanity and the propensity for writers to blow-start their handguns and youâll start to understand what weâre working with.










