Thoroughly Yours

WRIIIIIITTTTTTTTEEEEE!!!!!

That was the blaring cry from an e-mail I received while I was on a trip to the Philippines last week. It wasn't because I did not reply to an e-mail or anything; rather, it was a reminder that I haven't posted anything new in my e-journal. It said - (Your) last post was on June 8. Today is June 23. I'm waiting for a new article!!!

It delighted me to know that a post of mine is anticipated. I had fears in the past that no one reads what I labor to write. Or if anyone does, some may view it at as self-gratuitous and self-congratulatory. Well, these people can't be faulted, for indeed, a lot of people write to satisfy themselves, to advance a cause or to simply while their time. Writing is an outlet of one's creative or destructive thoughts, a vent for one's inner chaos or calm. What would the songs of Dylan and Cobain be if not products of triumphs and turmoil. To this day, their musings are the subject of books that pore over their lyrical ruminations.

Going back to the e-mail, my friend further challenged me saying, “Scott Fitzgerald worked for 8 hours a day and Hemingway wasted his time playing and drinking around. ” Although the references to Fitzgerald and Hemingway are flattering, they are quite far-off. These men are titans of the written word. I am but a Goliath in my mother's world.

On closer look, my friend might have been giving me a wake-up call. Does he think I can better my work? Or does he simply want me to write more often? Certainly, the writers around today fall under two categories. On the one hand are those who are highly prolific, a book of theirs never leaves the bookstands. Their works are the stuff movies are often based on. Stephen King, John Grisham, I can name a lot more. On the other hand, there are also writers whom we wait for years to come out with a book. Are they of lesser caliber? Do they suffer from writer's block more frequent than the rest? Or are they more thorough with their work?

Whatever the reasons, that one writer takes longer than another to launch a book adds to what makes a writer unique. It eventually bears an imprint on his work; it distinguishes a well-thought out book from a mass consumption work. What comes out after a long or a short wait tells much on what the writer has been through. A book or whatever literary work is like a babe in the womb. It is shaped by what its author breathed, ate, heard, and felt during the months of conception. And like all deliveries, the labor process can be quick and fast or long and hard. But in the end, a babe, a book is there to behold.

Will it be a bestseller? Will it be a beautiful baby? Who knows? The birth is a reward in itself.

And as for you, my friend, I will try to come out with something more often. But rest assured I would remain thoroughly yours.