WHY Are We Here?

I used to be a good writer. Throughout childhood and adolescence, writing was one of my primary hobbies. I consider this primarily a product of geography more than anything else... I grew up in the middle of nowhere. One of those ranch-style homes on a gravel road surrounded by trees and open fields - idyllic to some, isolated to others. Not to say I had a bad childhood. Quite the contrary! I had two wonderful parents, a little sister, dogs, cows, and all the room to roam I could want. I could climb trees, play outside, explore the wilderness. I'm just saying, after a while, you run out of things to do. So I began to write.

Short stories, poems, novels, plays, screenplays - everything I could think to write, I would write. Funny, serious, it didn't matter. It was a way to pass the time, and it was very... I don't want to say "relaxing" because my life wasn't exactly stressful... how about "peaceful"? It felt good to get things out. And I got pretty good at it. Not great, but good.

I've noticed something, though: I'm not as good a writer as I used to be. I consider this primarily a product of the times more than anything else. There is little reason to refine writing skills in everyday life. No one really writes letters or messages any more. I've never had to write essays for work. Most inquiries require only a few brief sentences, if any, in response. Even now, going back to school for a master's, I'm finding that most professors are happy enough with a "bare-bones" response:

     "How does A affect B?"
     "A affects B by..."

That's so rote and banal! And I actually find myself crafting those types of responses!

Like all skills, to be a good writer, you need a lot of practice. So consider this blog a practice field. I'll be throwing out lots of content. Ideas, opinions, questions, answers - I even have an occasional essay planned. I can't guarantee greatness, even mediocrity, but I welcome your responses, your feedback, anything. I hope you like what you see here; and if you don't, hopefully you will. And to those rare few who remember my last venture onto the information superhighway, welcome back! Thanks for giving me another chance. The content this time will be much more general and far-reaching, but I can guarantee there will still be plenty of opportunity for movie discussion.

Oh, also, for the curious...

I'm a big Woody Allen fan. If you're not, please stick around - we'll have lots to talk about!