The Secret Of Writing Is Not Writing – Frank H, An Ilocano Blogger Creative At 79

Yes, this is The Blogfather speaking. Inviting you to blogging.

With the PH Coronavirus Lockdown in Luzon, now is the time for all good minds to come to the aid of their country, not to mention family, by setting their brains free from worry, learning to rise above the occasion – as in learning creative writing.

Above image: The True Secret Of Writing is the title of the book by Zen author Natalie Goldberg, published 2013, with the subtitle, “Connecting Life With Language[1].” The problem is: You cannot connect life with language automatically.

What is the secret of writing? Steven Barnes quotes William F Nolan, author of Logan’s Run, as saying[2], “You type for ten years. That’s the secret of writing. In other words, you have to write every day.”

No Sir, Mr Nolan! Writing every day is not the secret – and no, automaticwriting is not creative writing. I Frank A Hilario am speaking as author of 6,000 science essays blogged since 2007.

I write every day. But that is not the secret of writing – fictionist Mr Nolan is hiding his secret. What he is sharing is the manual part of writing. What he is not sharing is the mental part.

In this essay, I am going to further encourage all my readers to think about creative writing by saying, this time:

The secret of writing is not writing;
The secret is thinking!
On any subject.

At 79, I want to tell you, from my experience of 46 years of writing, starting with copywriting for Pacifica Publicity Bureau in 1974, including my most rewarding years that were from start of 2007 to end of 2014 as international consulting writer of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, ICRISAT, when PH Secretary of Agriculture William Dar/Manong Willie was Director General of ICRISAT, being DG from 2000 to 2014:

The secret of writing is thinking. So:
The secret of creative writing is creative thinking.
There is no good writing, only good thinking!

In my previous essay, 18 March 2020 in this blog, “In The Midst Of Chaos, Frank A Hilario, Blogfather Will Help You Discover Your Heart, Not Hurt, For Writing[3]!” I gave what I call “7 Ex’s to Creative Writing:”

Explore. Extract. Exploit. Express. Examine. Excel. Expel.

I did not call them “The Secrets of Creative Writing” because they are not:

But if you go through the 7 Ex’s, you will be thinking creatively without realizing it!

Because that’s how creative thinking should be done – unconsciously.

Explore. When you do content research;
Extract. When you try to discover what treasures your notes have;
Exploit. When you think after your notes;
Express. When you write your drafts, plural, after all of the above;
Examine. When you review your drafts;
Excel. When you refine again & again your drafts;

Expel. When you release it to the world after 1 final word-for-word examination – you are thinking up to the last minute. Congratulations, Mr or Ms Creative Writer!@ 517

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[1] https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/The-True-Secret-of-Writing/Natalie-Goldberg/9781451641264

[2] https://medium.com/@stevenbarnes_87684/the-secret-of-writing-is-the-secret-of-life-235a230ac5c4

[3] https://ammompilipinas.blogspot.com/2020/03/in-midst-of-chaos-frank-hilario.html