Words, Michael, you're writing words.....

Sorry, always loved that line from The Lost Boys.

But, writing is simple, in my opinion. And this is where I run into problems when reading Writing Forums and How To Write books: it's just words! And again, I am not a published writer but writing isn't some huge mystical complicated thing. It's just putting words on paper and making a story.

More or less.

Sure, some people put words on paper and tell better stories. Some, like Cormac McCarthy, write novels using words that are sheer art. Others, like Stephen King, write novels using pretty normal words. But both use words.

I have always liked to write and always thought I could create a decent story, but always felt that words are words. And by that I mean it's not the words, it's the story.  Books that tell you how to write are wrong. You write like you write.

Sure, you can improve your writing, but like it says in 'On Writing, a memoir of the craft' you can write or you can't. I agree that you go from decent to good or good to very good but that you can't go from decent to very good. You can write or you can't.

Sorry, just got a little too much pompous elitist attitude from a writer's forum. But, I do feel better.