Coffee With David

In the latest edition of “The Writer” magazine, I read an article by Constance Hale titled “My writing mantra: Total risk, freedom, discipline [Off the Cuff]” which described her approach to writing. While I may not follow her steps in what I do, I fell in love with this mantra and what it implies into the art of writing.

Like many new writers, I have walked in the paths of those who have gone before me. It is one of the best ways to learn our craft. Yet there comes a time when we must find our own voice and our own style. This mantra fell on fertile soil in my mind at the right possible moment. In my view: writing without pushing yourself to try something new as the writer turns you into an automaton; writing without freedom stifles your growth; writing without discipline leaves you forever in the wannabe group of writers who have all of their stories and poems in their head and never have put them in ink.