Beginnings

The fact that I'm finally getting around to starting my own blog is, perhaps, mostly the fault of Marvin over at The Ivy Bush. Marvin started his blog about 6 months ago and has been quite diligent about writing "something, anything" nearly every day. More important, however, than Marvin's assiduous posting is the quality of his writing.

From our high school speech and debate days through his daily missives at The Ivy Bush I've had plenty of opportunities to observe and enjoy his writing. During college he shared some of his term papers with me. After college I was lucky enough, on a few occasions, to hear him deliver his sermons. And though I no longer live in North Carolina I was able to follow his stint as a published writer in The Charlotte Observer.

What has always struck me about Marvin's writing is how effortless it seems. I don't know how much time Marvin spends composing his posts or his sermons or his pieces for The Charlotte Observer. But I have this vision of him just jotting out his fully developed ideas. Clearly, this view of him was formed watching him wield a yellow legal pad in high school debate tournaments. Effortless.

Writing, for me, has always been work. I get caught up in structure and syntax; the flow of my sentences. I agonize over which words to use. And despite all that work, I'm often not happy with the results.

I doubt this little effort will be much different. But I'll try to take pleasure in the attempt. At the very least, perhaps, I can quit e-mailing my latest rants to Marvin with the surreptitious hope that my ideas will find the light of day at his blog.