Are the Joneses a Writing Family?

My good buddy–and former student, one of the best I had at Carolina–James said that my entire family can write. That’s a fairly interesting observation. My brother’s good with it. He needs to do it more on the comments, but he’s good with it. My mother is, too, and she probably was my best writing teacher, explaining to me that writing like a high school student wasn’t the best I could do (at the time, I was in middle school). The old man’s probably the best writer of us all.
How did it work out like that? Interesting question…young writers, take notes.

I’m of the belief that anyone smart can be a good writer with practice. I’m not one of those people that worries too much about how stuff sounds. I’ve got a strange sort of personality, so I figure that’ll take care of all the literary devices that make stuff fun to read. I put little to no effort to that sort of stuff because working at that makes stuff seem contrived. I want the stuff I write to sound like the things that I say, and I’m not the guy that’s gonna struggle coming up with something cool to say.
Well, unless I’m around Seuss or other insanely funny people. I don’t like being the square.
Either way, the key to writing, from where I sit, is having something smart to say. If you have something smart to say and it is clearly written, everything else will work itself out. Anyone can learn how to write, but not everyone can get that thinking thing down pat. They key is the thinking. In fact, my personal pet peeve are writers who want to try too hard to sound cool and clever. If I can’t take anything from a piece but a few quotables, I have wasted my time.
So what does this have to do with the family? Well, the cool thing with my folks–particularly in dealing with me–was how they treated my opinions at all ages like they were adult. That doesn’t mean everything I said was adult. Instead, I was forced at all times to justify whatever I was saying. If it was said, then it had to hold water. That’s the key to writing the sort of stuff that I write. It’s gotta hold water. The points have to be solid. Really, because of upbringing, I’ve been in training to write since I was old enough to form complete sentences.
The other big thing–being dealt with like that is great for the confidence. This isn’t a job for those lacking confidence. Writers must carry themselves with some measure of authority, and they can’t be afraid to show some human vulnerability here and there. One can’t admit vulnerability without some confidence. You can’t do that if you are not totally sold on what you have to say.
Punks jump up and get beat down. If you’re trying to write, you better be ready to fight but smart enough to know what fights are worth it.
So, the family can think moreso than write, and we’re a pretty confident lot. That we’re all varying types of weirdos is why some of our stuff stands out on paper. The key, though, is the thought process. When you work hard on the thoughts, the confidence and everything else will work itself out.
And that’s all I have to say about that.
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Yes, I’ve been posting a lot. Schedule allows for it now. Also, I need to write more, and it’s best to do that when you’re your own editor.