Introduction to Writing I Admire

Introduction to Writing I Admire

I love reading.  My achilles heel is that I'm a slow reader.  So, I read as much as I can, but not as much as I would like.  I also love writing.  For quite a long time I have fantasized about being a writer and having a  piece accepted by a relatively noteworthy publication.  Recently, I considered all the unread books on my shelf, all of the still to read publications on my side table and all of my on-line subscriptions.  All of it writing by published, award-winning and even great authors.  I have come to the realization that I am [probably] not going to be a published author.  I will keep trying, but there is just too much good writing out there.  This blog is my next best effort to keep track of that good writing and share it with others who might happen upon my blog.  I don't advertise or have a membership to Substack or other things like that.  It will probably be hit or miss for other readers.      

To write one has to practice the art of writing as well read good writing.  Perhaps my favorite kind of writing is the personal essay.  Here I plan to include anything I come across that I believe is well-written, that I learn from, that rivets me, moves me, makes me think, makes me laugh and helps me improve my own critical thinking.  I'll also look for writing from publications that are not well known or widely acknowledged.  I will try to include a variety of genres.  This will also be a venue to help me practice my own writing.   Of course, reading is deeply personal.  So is writing.  Generally, I prefer a non-fiction essay to a short story.  I don't read science fiction.  I love book and movie reviews.  I love animals and sports.  I love the outdoors.  I love short documentaries or op-docs, as the New York Times calls them.  These, too, reflect writing I admire.  So, the writing selected here will likely favor these preferences.          

When able I'll include links for reading each piece.  Some publications do allow access without a subscription for a limited number of articles.  Sometimes it's just one article and only one time.  However, others are more generous; for example the New York Times allows access to ten free articles per month.  Alternatively, and although there is a lot of good writing in the Atlantic, that publication does not allow access without a subscription.  Smaller or less well-known publications are often more lenient, but may have pop-ups to encourage subscribing.  

Finally, I will also include some New York Times Op-Docs.  I love this feature in the NYT; I don't recall ever watching a bad Op-Doc.

Image from Wikipedia

Each blog entry will have a new piece of writing.  Some entries may include more than one piece if the pieces are related in some way.  

I plan to enjoy keeping this blog.  I will probably get behind and then suddenly enter many pieces on a single day, as I have done to get my blog started.  I've been saving many of these pieces in various places  on-line for a long time and risked losing them.  Keeping the writing I like in one place will help avoid that.  If other readers find Writing I Admire, I hope they will find reading they enjoy and that moves them.

I was inspired to keep this blog by New York Times opinion writer, David Brooks, who wrote at the end of his 2018 The Sidney Awards, Part II column:  "Sidney nominees are gathered by a completely haphazard, random process. But I couldn’t do it at all without the annual help of Robert Cottrell of The Browser; Robert Atwan, who directs the Best American Essays series; and Conor Friedersdorf, who produces a Best of Journalism newsletter each week.

Accordingly, I have been a long time purchaser of the annually published Best American Essays and I now subscribe to The Browser and the Best of Journalism newsletters.  They have led me to great articles, new publications, blogs and podcasts.

Happy reading for us all.