I Originally Thought I Hated Writing [Part 2]

(Continuation of last time)

"I thought that perhaps they had died."

"Huh...?"
The teacher, who had a Machi Tawara-like vibe, was momentarily speechless and continued like this. The students around me were also buzzing a little.

"Why did you think that?"

" 'Run past', 'wearing', 'sleeping'... I thought that perhaps this person might have died because they are wearing a straw hat."

I had said it. My heart was pounding.

The teacher with the Machi Tawara-like vibe drew a yellow chalk line under each of the words 'run past', 'wearing', and 'sleeping' in

which was written on the blackboard.

"I was surprised. I thought it was amazing. I never expected such an impression to come out..."

At the end of that class, the teacher said once more, "Everyone, there were many different impressions today. I was truly surprised by lion's (pseudonym) impression in particular."

My heart was still racing.

I don't know if this interpretation is correct or incorrect. No, the impression that it was "dead" right off the bat is probably more likely to be wrong.

However, perhaps "words" have the power to change the flow. I vaguely thought about such things.

You stick a single pole into the flow of a river. The flow changes for just a moment at that spot.
But the pole didn't fall over right away. At least, it didn't fall over until the class was over.

After that, my Japanese teacher began to affirm my impressions and writing as being "a little different".

Honestly, even then, I didn't start reading books in my third year of junior high, nor did I suddenly like writing.
I was still the same laid-back thinker as before.

However, I started to become curious about the moments when "words" change the flow.

When everyone is flowing in the same direction as if it were natural, perhaps "words" could change that flow.

There might be times when it is better to change the flow with "words," or times when the flow should be changed.

Perhaps "words" could help people realize that the flow everyone is in might actually be different.

Not just aimlessly riding the same flow as everyone else, but not confronting or obstructing it either. That moment when "words" change the flow.

I started to become gradually curious about the moment this change is born.

＊

The graduation anthology for the third year of junior high.

Every student in the class had to write one page of manuscript paper.

As expected, I couldn't get started. While everyone else finished writing and went home early, I just couldn't get started.

But I absolutely did not want to write about memories of the school trip or the sports festival or things like that.

That is the kind of thing I hate the most. It is a difficult problem for the Yutori generation, who cannot fit into anything.

The title I wrote like that was,

"Stories of Commuting to School"

.

It went something like this. I walked the same path every day for three years to commute to school. In spring, cherry blossoms bloomed; in summer, I was drenched in sweat and the insects were noisy; in autumn, it was cool; and in winter, my hands were so numb I felt like I was dying. Even though it was the same path, I always found something different. Even though I walked the same path, there were times when I was happy and times when it was painful. I wrote something to the effect that although it was a repetition of the same things, I thought it might have been an important time (my memory is hazy, but I feel like I ended it with "I thought").

I handed it to the teacher, who was like Machi Tawara and had been waiting for me to finish writing.

After reading it for about 30 seconds, she said,

"Yeah! As expected, lion (pseudonym), you have a unique touch!".

The moment "words" change the flow.

I feel like I have finally understood, just a little bit, how to set a fishing rod so it doesn't fall over easily.

＊

Time passed, and I became a university student.

My major was law.
Liberal arts university students are sometimes forced to write long essays.

An essay is logic. You must not change the flow. Setting a fishing rod is out of the question.
I had absolutely no idea how to write a logical essay.

Maybe I really am bad at writing.

The book I encountered here was a masterpiece by Professor Shigeki Noya.

This book teaches you how the sentences you write every day, even though they are ordinary words, are being used incorrectly. If I could master this, I think I would be able to write clear and logical essays.

How to get someone to read smoothly to the end.

Logical writing is not about poking a pole into the water, but rather about how to make it flow smoothly.

I had never thought about that before.

Truly logical writing creates the flow of the river itself.

Writing that flows smoothly feels good to read, even when it is about ordinary things.

Truly logical writing is perhaps most beautiful and interesting when the reader does not even realize that the flow is being created by the writer.
It made me feel that way.

And, as I have introduced before, my favorite 'afterword' in any book I have read is the 'Conclusion' of Professor Noya's Japanese Seminar for Adults'.

It does not use difficult words or techniques; it uses ordinary sentences to write about ordinary things. Yet, it can still be moving.

'Words' can become a pole that changes the flow of a river.
Not only that, but 'words' can sometimes even create the flow of the river itself.

＊

And now.

Writing is not my profession.
I read more than I did in elementary or junior high school, but I am not exactly a bookworm. There are countless people who read more books than I do.

But, I do want to poke the pole in a little bit.

However, when writing a book report, I might still feel bad if I misinterpreted the text.

The book that answered my anxieties about reading and writing was Pierre Bayard's 'How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read'.

This book is open to many interpretations.

However, I believe this book is a wonderful book that makes me feel the possibilities of communication through books, suggesting that even if you haven't read a book properly, or even if you have misread it, you don't need to be anxious and can confidently share your impressions—in fact, that it is better to do so. I think.

After all, even if you confidently talk about a book you haven't read, it is still part of the endless process of the book's creation.

I have seen reviews of this book, but I haven't seen many reviews or impressions from that perspective.

So, I decided to put some effort into writing a book review.

Whether someone has read the book or not, communication through books is possible. Therefore, even if I might be wrong, it is okay to speak confidently.

And, the world of creation is open to everyone.

I originally thought I hated writing.

But that was not the case.

I was just a little afraid that I might be wrong.

＊

Finally, I would like to touch upon why I continue to post consecutively.

Continuing to post every day is a high hurdle. I didn't intend to do that much at first either.

So, why do I continue to post consecutively?

For several years, I have made it a rule to decide on "words to say to myself when I am lost."
There are many times when I am lost or things do not go well.
At such times, I decided on words to say to myself to encourage myself.

By the way,
for 2022 it was "What is your next move?"
for 2023 it was "Don't stop moving!"
.

I had decided this only within myself, so I had not told anyone or written it down anywhere.

It is like deciding in advance on words to say to myself to encourage myself.

At one point, I suddenly decided to write about that on note and post it.

I took what I had only ever said to myself inside my own head and brought it out.

Then, something strange happened.

When I took what I had been repeating only in my head, brought it out, turned it into text, and published it on the web, those "words" started to look completely different than before.

And somehow, all sorts of inspiration started to well up.

From there, it was like a chain reaction.

The streak of daily posts has continued.

This was 50 days ago.

This note marks the 50th day of consecutive posts.

I was thinking about these "words" every single day. Then, before I knew it, I had reached 50 consecutive days of posting.

Since this note 50 days ago, I have been ending my sentences with these "words" every day.

However, only on the 49th day out of 50, that is, only in yesterday's note, I was unable to end my sentence with these "words".

These "words" that I have been saying to myself for 50 days whenever I felt lost or troubled.

In the end, hoping that someone's flow of heart will be encouraged, I will try to pole the flow of the river with these "words".

"Make today the best day"

I posted it here!