On writing

In order to be a (stylistically) successful writer, one must learn to achieve the proper separation between one’s own thoughts and the words on the page. If one is too deep in meditation, the writing will become halting and scattered, a tribute to the brain’s ability to link many unique, complex ideas on the fly. Yet if one concentrates too much on the writing, the sentences will flow easily, but lead to nowhere in particular. Throughout history, the great writers of the ages have been those who were able to master this balance without external influence, bending the language to meet their needs and whims. For the rest of us, however, grammar was invented, to temper our flood of thoughts and allow us to carefully construct them, piece by piece, into an intelligible entity.

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