The Plan
July 13, 2008
Make our educations serve our passions.
It’s is all coming together in my head. What can an artist do when he has dressed himself in the robes of a professional? He is taught many skills–analytical, numerical; all theoretical–and he is expected to expend them in a soul-crushing industry.
There is something that can be done. An aspiring writer with a legal and business background, if you count four years of theoretical indoctrination as background, can wear all three hats: writer, lawyer, businessman.
Why not? Sure, it makes failure inevitable, but that’s where lessons are learned. Failure is a bit disheartening no matter the circumstances. Failure at something one is deeply invested in is a breeding ground for growth.
I can be all three: writer, lawyer, businessman. As a writer, I can write. As a lawyer, I can represent the writer. As a businessman, I can pitch him.
There is so much to learn. Persuasion. Marketing. Analyzing. Fixing. Trying again.
Above all, it gives me a goal. A reason to write beyond personal edification. Maybe the literati will say that anybody who needs a reason beyond personal edification is not a writer, nor will that person ever be one. I disagree. Many times, writing is the result of inner turmoil. But why write? Those of us that are most introverted resolve issues internally, a purely mental process. So, why write? Writing is expression. Where there is expression there must be an expressor and an expressee. Sometimes the simple release of writing is enough for the author, yet there are times when the point is to affect an audience.
An audience. What a tool! To throw a piece of writing to the community and have it read and critiqued and criticized! What an opportunity to gather perspective about my own skills.
But beyond development as a writer, there is also development as a professional. There is a chance–there are many chances, actually–to put to use these skills that have been hammered into me for the past few years. There is finally a purpose–beyond remuneration–for which I can lay myself humbly before. And grow.
