Ms Steffen

I agree with Gertrude Stein's statement "To write is to write is to write." Becoming a good writer implies immersion in the art of writing. The basic writing process and bare bones of each of the modes can be taught, but the fleshing out from a formula writer to a writer/artist can only come with practice and time. Writing needs constant nurturing. Mature writing moves beyond structure and grammatical correctness towards nonlinear thinking, approaching issues from different angles, weighing multiple criteria. To that end, all writing is experimental. Experimentation implies failure, but failure is instructive. We do not improve our writing by avoiding failure, but by embracing it. There is always the possibility of improvement. The probability depends on commitment. Good writing takes re-vision: seeing with new eyes, revisiting a writing with a new perspective, opening the mind's eye to poetic insight. Immersion in the art of writing exposes our souls to the critiques of others but expands our lives and the lives of those around us and the lives of those yet to visit our exhibitions of word splashes on our writing canvases.