They say the first step to recovery is admitting that you have a habit, but I cannot say for sure what my addiction is because I do not know how to categorize it and classify it.
This habit has become all-consuming, raging through my veins and overloading the firing of my synapses. The craving strikes me down, teasing me, distracting me, pulling me away from daily routine in all hours.
This addiction is not something to deny and suppress. Rather, it is meant to be harnessed and developed in a constructive manner.
One can flail aimlessly about as they drown in an ocean of detail and formulae if they let the craving take over. The need can be insatiable and there are pitfalls everywhere.
I am addicted to writing.
I am so addicted, I decided to follow a career in journalism.
It has been a trying fight, I must admit, to battle this writing addiction and channel it into comprehensive prose. I fought the temptation for so long to set one of these things up - I do a lot of writing for college classes, anyway.
The realization that I was putting to waste a valuable resource woke me up to the fact that there is no such thing as too much writing. Like a musical instrument, crafting words and constructing sentences is an art where mastery spans a lifetime.
Ever since starting formal journalism training, I have learned a few things about writing. Journalists are observers; repeaters of fact and storytellers who present information to readers (or listeners and viewers) so they can make an informed opinion.
I like the storytelling part the most.
I love stories - I love reading them, hearing them and telling them. Writing stories was the lure that made me swallow journalism hook, line and sinker. Stories are what keep the imagination active and have endless possibilities.
Journalists write as succinctly as possible. They have X amount of information to fit in Y amount of space. The challenge is get to the crux of the story in as few words as possible, as quickly as possible to avoid boring the reader.
I don't like that, but it's a necessary evil.
People are not interested in spending their precious free time reading long analytical pieces. They have bills to pay, a family to tend to and a workplace to serve. Journalists start by boiling down their articles into simple plain-Jane structures that lead readers from one element of the story to the next to maintain attention.
The basic rule of journalism is that all information presented must be attributed to a source. If information is not attributable, then journalists cannot print it. The days of "said an anonymous source" are over (at least in respected circles).
Journalism is very strict in that writers print fact. There is no room for speculation, exaggeration, or sensationalism. Which is necessary, but (to a point...) no fun.
Conquering proper journalism is a blend between factual and engaging storytelling. Every word is crafted to fit in the cosmic order and savored in context.
In regards to a writing addiction, I find that I can literally short circuit when I get bombarded with too much information. Detail can be a killer, bogging down the essence of a story when all a writer wants is to elicit an emotional response from the reader.
There is no such defense for 'creative license' if journalists print material that are opinion in a news story. That argument does not fly.
This is why I sometimes get into a tug-of-war between journalism and creative writing.
Creative writing allows you to be creative. The limitations of what you write are based on the boundaries of your imagination. And we all know that imagination has no limits.
