I've Read It Already

I've read it already.

Who cannot tell the circumstances, motivations and aspirations behind the full text that smacks of a familiarity and path over-trudged upon by aspiring writers with nascent writing talent. I can even smell concretely the pervading atmosphere that brought the text into its final form and substance.

It cannot escape my proving eyes used to these kind of babblings. I did brushed elbows and mingled with my contemporaries during my college campus days who had the same artistic pursuits and goals (me included). I know exactly the crux of the matter regarding these attempts to 'feel.'

So what precisely is the thing that I'm discussing here?

I'm making my point on the usual practice of novice writers on their attempt to delude themselves that they are cut to be writers on the basis of their pretensions of suffering from some turmoil of social or self alienation or spiritual distress. (Of course they wont admit to it, and they may even be probably not aware of what they are really doing.)

They desperately, upon realizing that they want to be writers or poets, try to rummage amidst the chaos of their memories for something painful experiencesor circumstances that they can claim themselves to be in duress. Worse, others create an imagined crisis of their spirits besieging their existence day in and day out. And when you read the text of the latter case: it reeks of phoniness and pretensions as can be seen on his obvious attempt to be literary and writerly in his delivery of his 'pain.'

Usually these are the young aspiring writers and poets you would bump into in college and university campuses; mostly those who are staff writers for their college papers and those hangers-on who surround them.

They assume this gibberish on spiritual alienation and destitution or on whatever suffering it might be, as a shortcut on opening their pores and sensibilities to human sufferings and conditions. Another reason is to give justification for them to continue to write; since they are in pain and suffering then they have something important to share to humanity.

Sadly, they even assume that the more and deeper their pains are, the greater the possibility of writing a better piece -- as if their present endeavor, if done in a state of misery can keep par as far as quality vis-a-vis for example Slyvia Plath's Bell Jar.

Don't get the impression that I deny the ability of young writers to experience and understand true human conditions. I would say these kind of writers are usually the ones who don't subcribe to the tactics mentioned above. I met several of writers of this kind, and all I can say is when you read their prose or poems is was as if they were old souls in young men's body.

I say, aspiring writers should not mind if they don't suffer from any obvious pain. Or if they don't feel such kind of pain stated above means they are not cut for a writer. Everybody can be a writer. It only takes a decision to be so. Going back to the subject of pain: Pain will come along on every writer's path. That's for sure.

Note: The experience that pushed me to write the above piece comes from reading a blog posted by a young, intelligent college student who tries to force or pretend that he suffers from spiritual alienation and he fears for the future, yet it is obvious from her credentials and achievements that he is highly a functional young adult. Well, the blog's text betrays him of his intention... Though I may add, that young student writes better than me. Hehehe