Life Is an Art: An Introduction

I’m a writer.

If that wasn’t painfully obvious from the last year and half of blog posts, I have something elementary to inform you of, dear Watson: I like to write.

Turns out, however, that I like to do more than write. I like to listen to music and to mix it (even though I can’t really play it?), I like to act and direct and work on the technical aspects of Theatre, I enjoy math and science so much I’m going to major in Chemical Engineering. I love logic and philosophy and thought-provoking discussions. I like to look at paintings (which I can’t draw), at photographs (which I’m not too good at taking), and I enjoy all sorts of other things.

What’s the point of this?

Well… it’s time to take a look at the world beyond writing.

Why Life?

That heading sounds a bit like a tumblr post about to get deep, right? Well, this isn’t going to get deep, sorry. Basically, I’m going to start posting (on Mondays) about things other than writing.

I’m not abandoning writing, not at all. Every Friday post will still be writing centered, and almost every Monday post will somehow relate back to writing and why writing is such a beautiful and artistic pursuit. The thing is… there’s more to life than simply writing. It might look like – based on my blog – that the only thing I do with my life is write. That’s simply not the case.

I might spend an hour and a half a day writing. That’s it. It’s all I have time for, because life is full. There are so many facets to life that one simple art cannot possibly cover it all.

Therefore, I want to write a bit more about life, and how writing can relate to it.

Life is an Art

So, I came up with this idea: LIAA (LEE-ah). Life is an Art. A simple title, a simple acronym. They’ll be simple posts, for most part, highlighting almost anything. I’ll give you a few post titles I’m toying around with as examples:

“Why It’s Okay to Grow Up”

“How Theatre Changes You”

“Going it Alone”

“Philosophy is Fascinating”

“Broken Snapshots – a glimpse at my writings”

When I write a review (of a book or a movie or Hamilton or some such thing), it will be posted on Monday as well.

What about Blips?

You may have noticed by now that I usually post on Mondays. That I’ve already got a pair of things – world blips and prose blips – that take place at the beginning of the week.

What about them?

Where are they going?

Well, nowhere. They’ll be staying right here, on this blog. I just won’t be posting them quite as often. A few Fridays will be dedicated to a Blip. Those will still be coming.

In fact, I’m really excited about the next few months’ worth of Friday posts, including:

“Your Target Audience”

“Prose Blip – Irony”

“Someone to Look Up to – a blog post series”

World Blip – The Source of Magic

“The Art of Historical Fiction”

And a few dozen more. I’ve got a basic pattern I’ll follow for what type of post happens when, but I’ll let you figure it out for yourself.

Changes and Chances

Life is about to change. I’m not going to go around spouting details because details are boring. Instead, I want to say this: as my life changes significantly, I hope to keep posting. I might miss a post or two here and there come this autumn. I’m not dying, I promise (although… I guess I shouldn’t promise that because college finals).

Even as it changes, life is an art. It’s a dance and a painting and a snapshot of reality and a glimpse at beauty and story and emotion and power.

Let’s enjoy it, shall we? That’s what art is for: for us to enjoy and to ponder and interact with and to invest in.