The Writings of Alex Wilson

If you are a writer and read lots of blogs (as I do) for, about and by writers, you will hear from many – though not all – that you should write every day. They’re not necessarily saying write on your project, but write SOMETHING. After being steeped in this mantra it occurred to me that the sub-text was to think about expressing through writing every day. They’re saying the craft discipline of expressing ANYTHING in writing – dialog, description, interior analysis – will be automatically honed by the exercise.

I once shared a NYC apartment with an accomplished and recognized painter who taught at the Art Students League and University of Wisconsin. He went out every day and sketched in the park. When I asked why he had to do that at this advanced stage of his career, he replied, ‘I have to get in my thousand strokes a day’.

That’s us, too, gang. We, also, have to get in our thousand strokes.