For quite a while now, I have considered myself a
writer. I’ve read books about writers
for writers. I understand jokes that
writers make about their craft. I notice
and imagine things all the time and think to myself, “I need to write about
that.” I watch movies and cringe when a
character speaks a lazy line, a line some hack just cranked out without any
thought whatsoever. (To have Darth Vader
simply yell “Noooooooo!” after being told Padme was dead was unforgiveable, I
feel, and I’m not even a Star Wars guy.)
I can envision myself with a writer’s lifestyle: unpredictable, intense
stretches of time at my computer stressing over every prepositional phrase,
balanced with relatively leisured time when I’m doing whatever else I want –
though inwardly rebuking myself for not writing more.
For as much as I consider myself a writer, however, I seldom
write a word. I want to, but for various
reasons, I simply don’t. I could blame
my two preschool-aged time sponges, my unorganized computer desk nook that is often
too cluttered to approach, my weakness for dramas on the USA network and
So You Think You Can Dance, or the pull of other, legitimate duties in my life.
I also suffer from a horribly debilitating perfectionism
when it comes to my writing, and if it’s not perfect, if I don’t have the piece
fully formed before I even begin, then, well, I don’t begin.
That’s why this blog is called Wordless. I often feel wordless, either because I tend
towards passive observation or because I can’t divine the word that I know would suit the situation perfectly. Also because I frequently come up with
stupendous ideas to write about that never make it to my fingertips. I’m the least prolific writer I know.
I also conscious of Ecclesiastes 5:2: “Do not be quick with
your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let
your words be few.” Then there’s James
1:19: “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to
listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.”
Richard Foster, in his seminal Celebration
of Discipline, wrote, “Let us become known as people who have something to
say when we speak.”
Thus, this simple web-log.
It will contain my thoughts on God, my family, politics, movies and
books, and perhaps even a word or two about sports (I’m a Pittsburgh Pirates
fan, so I have a great depth of sorrow from which to draw).
“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be
pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” – King David
“You can bend my ear, we can talk all day; Just make sure
you’re around when I’ve finally got something to say” – Toad the Wet Sprocket
