Your words have value
So I’ve always known that I’m a great writer. And that has made me just a wee bit cocky. I started this blog as yet another outlet for all the thoughts that run around inside my head. They’re probably training for the Olympics or something. But then I get writer’s block.
Because I think to myself that everything’s already been said. It doesn’t help that I read the usual bunch of progressive blogs such as Feministe, Feministing, Alas, The Curvature, etc. They’re all awesome writers, they write about things that affect everyone, and they do so with a certain je ne sais quoi.
So then I get writer’s block and I turn it around in my hands. I ask it why I feel this way. I ask it when I’ll get to say something original. I ask it why I can’t be as feisty as those writers.
And then writer’s block responds. It tells me that there are many South Africans who’ve never heard of Feministe, Feministing, Alas, The Curvature, etc. It tells me that there are many South Africans who will never read those blogs. It tells me that it’s my job to bring progressive thought to the South Africans who read my blog. It tells me that very few people know that they have a choice. Very few people decide to delete the email that the system sends them about masculinity and femininity. Most of them leave it in their inbox. Very few people know about the alternatives: gender and sexual fluidity, childfree living, polyamory, communal living, living without a car, and many others.
And then I thank my writer’s block. I put it back in its box and I put it at the very far end of my cupboard. Until next time.
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“So I’ve always known that I’m a great writer.”
Delusions of grandeur, anyone?
Ms Cloete, you are able to write, yes. Congratulations! So can millions of other people around the world.
Are you a “great writer”? No. Absolutely not. Barely readable, in fact.
I suggest that you pick up a grammar textbook and start reading. Pay careful attention to the subject marked “concord”.
Once you have mastered the basics, move on to style.
An original thought or two would be nice… Original. Your own. Not lifted from an international blog and presented as your own dumbed down version of what you think the blogger was trying to say.
Maybe, if you are lucky, somewhere along the line you will acquire the ability to present your own thoughts… Coherently. Maybe, if we – your readers – are lucky, you will acquire the ability to logically defend your point of view in an online debate.
I suspect that in asking for this I am hoping for the impossible, so rather just stick to the grammar textbook.
God knows, you need it.
Thanks for the advice, Thabo. You made me chuckle. Perhaps it’d be better if you stop reading my blog if my writing offends you so much?
It takes some courage to speak out (or in). Don’t be too perturbed by the occasional brickbat reward.
Keep rocking and rolling, but however blocked you feel… don’t shut up (or down.)
hehe, thanks, Neil. I’ll try my best. Same goes for you vis-a-vis your blog
Wow, that’s the first time I’ve heard the idea that the route to being a great writer is through grammar and style guides.
Mostly, male writers had led me to believe that it was a product of innate genius!
I enjoy your blog, whether I agree with everything you say or not.
So keep the faith, your confidence is admirable.
I know! It’s such nonsense that someone can be an instant success; being an overnight success is hard work.
Thanks for the nice words, B. Adu. That validation is much needed and appreciated, especially today.