The Writer as Electron: Dudley Do Write

I want to know what it would feel like to write tens of thousands of words of fiction every day. Ok, maybe three thousand fictional depictions per day. Isn’t writing, in a sense, an act of redistributing fiction? Isn’t there a separation between the thought and the symbol representing said thought?

Yes. The trait of good writers is the lessening of the Ego/Self chasm to merely a nano-gap. Coming from a science background, hard science nonetheless (!), I witness phenomenon in terms of subatomic essentials. Ok, well actually, electrons are my biggest influence when it comes to theoretical thoughts (which is a redundant statement to say the least; aren't thoughts theoretical because they are thoughts rather than observable actions? that is until it becomes something someone does...ok, you get the point). When we place our hands on our keyboards, our significant others, or a piece of chocolate cake, we aren’t actually touching anything. There is a continual separation between what we perceive as contact and the object intended for movement.

Our proprioceptors/exteroceptors/interoceptors are more observational than they are direct participants. Electrons don’t touch each other. They have gaps/spaces in between their orbits. Electrons do not occupy the exact same location or state of “being” (yes, I am applying a vague form of personification; you can either look for the deeper meaning, or stop reading because these kinds of inferences will continue unabated). So goes everything connected to the atomic structure. Our electrons of thought and action maintain a certain amount of space-distance from the phenomenon of language. Spoken language tends to be quicker than its written sibling (I know, DUH, Homer Simpson). But, oral communication lacks a beauty that the hard pressed structural cadence of written expressions commands. This is the reason I’m perpetually geeked up on having people write down their thoughts rather than say them out loud. Writing is more reflective, less emotionally convulsive. Certainly, when we want to get something out of us, when we want to expel pent up emotional energy, than verbal diarrhea is the spew that keeps on giving (and not in ways over which we have complete control). But, unless we train our emotions to filter through the executive functions of our human brain, then we tend to remain in pre-myelinated adolescence. What is the most accessible way to encourage internal growth (cognitive, emotional, and at the level of the brain, physical)? Writing.

The ability to solidify a language into written symbols which can then be translated into other human languages (yes, I know, there is a bit of a limitation on this as well) is one of the unique characteristics of being homo sapien sapien. And yet, it is an exercise of the human brain which tends to be ignored in lieu of passive/aggressive consumption.

On an ethnographic level, I notice this in the expectation of what teacher’s are supposed to “do” as ideal “teaching”. Somehow, magically, students are to be listening, reading, and writing simultaneously while Mr. X edutains them. No. Fundamentally, students need to be writing through the various structures of communication (yes, yes, yes, after having it scaffolded, of course...but lecturing constantly only serves the purpose of Ego fulfillment for the teacher...tsk tsk).

Reading and writing are the twin electric charges pushing synaptic connections and reinforcing other cellular conversations. They dominate all fields including math and science (guys, come on, even math is reading and writing, you’re just using another set of symbols with another set of rules; I can turn a math equation into a sentence just as easily as a sentence can be transformed into mathematical equation....move beyond the intellectual Ego and do what you math/science people do best…look for the patterns).

AFTER students have written down their structured reflections, then discussion can ensue. Now, I understand that discussion can be the springboard from which ideas have a chance to breathe. I will readily admit that I am approaching the subject from the perspective of classroom churning through 5-fifty one minute periods of early adolescent, low income, non-proficient readers (caught in the vicious cycle of not enjoying reading because they cannot do it very well, and, of course, they are required to read in school….that whole lame attempt to look cool by defying any and all prerequisites just because someone in authority is giving a direction). I am aware of the other existing classroom cultures.

The fundamental point, just like the electron, is to have them writing. Write research reports. Write narratives from different viewpoints (one scene from the perspective of the antagonist, and another scene from the perspective of the protagonist…for example). Write advertisements. Create a blog. Challenge them to a Twitter contest (the most lucid thought in 140 characters or less!). If they are less proficient readers, have them complete Cloze activities with reading materials (if you don’t know what a Cloze activity is, email me) and specifically designed questions after each paragraph (or, for the younger guys, after each sentence). Teach them how to write a movie script, a collection of short stories, a novel, letters and emails to potential employers, procedural/technical manuals...and so forth.

Reading is intertwined through the process of the literature serving as a model reflecting a certain form of writing. The student who does not like to read or write will always be present in at least some form (I am related to one of these kinds of students…much to my chagrin). Perhaps others may look for a way around this issue (usually through the misinterpretation of the Electron Ego as so unique that it is irreplaceable; which isn’t true for electrons…they have a stability of character in order to continue the stability of the system…and also isn’t true for earthly systems as they will continue in the event our existence does not).

However, the reality of the world presents a more positive picture for those who can read and write as a demonstration of their mastery in the realm of literacy. We do not consistently get to pick and choose situations that will bring us our idealized form of joy (again, we are back to that analogy of the electron gap….reality versus what is going on inside of our heads…the farther the two are from each others orbitals, the greater the potential for a huge fall as typified through the Innocent Archetype). Opportunity is as hit or miss as winning it big in Las Vegas. However, we can be prepared for the opportunity regardless of how much we dislike the drudgery of preparation.

The only way out of the relentless bumps and bruises, without the blow back from trying to take systemic shortcuts is through enacting the dialogue of reading and writing (I consider drawing and painting a form of writing...and music is definitively in the writing category), which further negotiates the lessening of the electron chasm between the Ego (basic needs)and the authentic Self (which can’t simply be purchased and worn like costume couture).

So, Write On!

Corporation Me (Patent Pending)

Catlike and circuitous.
Cautious incorporation.
Silence is the kiss of a cocoon.
The Soul unsheathes.
Somewhere, between liquid light,
Filtering through shade and slating,
I rise and stretch from beneath the sediment of skin.
I defy the thread of bone and tendon.
I seep through openings undeterred.
Somewhere, in the midst of this terminal slumber
I am the dream deferred.