Monday, February 20, 2012

Writing Is Like Skiing

I did a Google search on the title, and the first hit was this article. A good analogy, and exactly what I was after. This week my posting will be a bit erratic (if existent at all, though I'm going to try to check in on Wednesday as usual), as I'll be travelling. We have a little ski trip planned.

I'm going to take the laptop and hopefully finish off my novelette during the car rides or warming up in front of the fire after a day on the slopes. We're not going anywhere crazy, just Boyne Mountain in Michigan with a bunch of friends. Half of the crew aren't even skiers, instead preferring the tubing areas, shopping, and the spa. Thus, Boyne is a great getaway for us. Plus it doesn't involve a plane ride.

I agree with the points in the article that I linked. Then, I read the comments and the first person points how how much easier it was for a younger child to pick up skiing than your average adult. The claim was that this breaks the analogy, but I'm not so sure. Children tend to learn things much quicker than adults in general, and I think if more children were writing stories, that they could be pretty darned good in a shorter amount of time as well. There just aren't any classes really on story telling. You make get a dash of creative writing through English courses, but really, how many courses are offered to kids when it comes to story-telling?

I'm not trying to go controversial here, because really, if you're not shooting to be a writer, I suppose you don't need story-telling. It's probably not as important to teach as math, science, or geography. Yet, I can't help but think the world could use a little more emphasis on written communication skills. In any case, we can at least say that writing is "sort of" like skiing. And I'll be keeping that firmly in mind while bombing the black diamonds, I assure you.

This... *bounce bounce* ...is so much... *bounce skid* ... like... *swish bounce* ...writing! *swoosh stop* 

That's pretty much what it's like when I'm typing, too.

2 comments:

Lauralynn Elliott said...

I really think there should be more writing classes for younger people. But you know the budget for the arts gets cut first when money is short. But sports usually don't get cut! Now I like football as well as the next person, but I feel like writing, art, music, etc. is more important. At least AS important.

Okay, I promise I didn't mean to rant like that. But when you mentioned story telling, that got me on my soapbox about the arts. LOL.

Matt said...

I think a big part of the problem is that there needs to be a more generally acceptable career path for artists. I mean, everyone knows about professional athletes, but professional artists? Do they even make any money?

I might be being a bit dramatic, but the point is that it's not just in school where one could say there's a lack of monetary support for the arts.

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