Writing For Everyone

My creative writing professor used to say: "We don't write about ideas. We write at ideas."

It took me a while to really get what he meant. When you write at ideas, you never quite get there because the topics are ineffable. They transcend language. This is the challenge good writers take.

Although I love creative writing, I also worry that we're not doing enough to teach students hirable skills.

Doing a good job of writing at ideas earns the respect of other writers, editors and publishers. Doing a good job of writing about ideas earns you a paycheck. More people read Buzzfeed than McSweeney's. This is the sad truth.

Until recently, I thought the two styles were mutually exclusive.

I was reading ESPN the Magazine recently. Whenever I love the writing of a particular column, I flip back to see who wrote it. More often than not, it's Tim Keown. I love his writing. Not because his reporting unearths astounding facts or because he uses sabermeterics to explain the success of Mark Buerhle. He just has a great way of making me care about his subjects, which seems so rare in sports writing.

That's when I realized: Tim Keown writes about sports. He writes at humanity.

I think both are necessary even though I think most writers, even successful ones, choose only one. It should be about nourishing your mind and your soul.