The Whimsical Appeal of the Written Word
Art has always been a kind of creation made to speak to the heart and a field of work catered to peak our interests. It is a universal language that most of us can find understanding from or at least entertainment within. However, no matter how much sentimentality art carries, it is also one that has its own form of technicality.
Where Mathematics and Science are built from the base of equations and formulas, art is in turn derived from three senses and mediums: words, audio, and visuals.
As someone who has dabbled with and enjoyed all three forms of mediums, I find myself constantly inching toward the craft of words, and very evidently drawn towards any creation or work based on its use. At the same time, as one who has nestled himself well in the community of Medium. I believe for most of us, despite all differing topic or niche, that we all find delight and intrigue within the written word. Be it a good script, a great book, or simply an eye-catching article.
“I always enjoyed it since I was a child”, “It helps me focus”; Each of us here has our own unique reasons to like the craft of words over the other two mediums of audio and visual sensory. As for me, I like working with words because it is the most liberating type of art form.
It frees my thoughts as it does with my curiosity for topics I’m interested in, but after a period of writing, I also found traits related to being free within this unique medium that make it so much more appealing. After all, don’t we all enjoy free things?
An affordable source
When I speak of free, I do indeed have monetary factors in mind. It’s no surprise, however, considering that writing is indeed the most affordable activity as compared to working with the other two mediums.
Visuals would likely require you to get a camera or canvas along with the different equipment with it, while the minimal needs of audio consist of instruments and the maintenance that comes along. Working with words simply requires just a pen and paper, or if you want it digital, a laptop at the very most.
Moreover, writing is also a skill that comes largely from your own creativity and learned facts. In fact, it is natural that it is something much more affordable to learn and improve from as compared to techniques and notes that comes with audio and visual pieces. Sure, writing classes do indeed better reach your potential but who’s to say you can’t write a moving book or attention-grabbing article without this sort of guidance? That might not be something I can say about composing a beautiful piano piece or taking ground-breaking photos.
Ultimately, being a medium that is less costly to make also makes it a form of art, knowledge, and enjoyment much more accessible and affordable for more to attain. And if that is not a win-win situation for the creator and audience, I don’t know what is.
Create anything you want
Say, one day you decide that you would like to create a piece about a young boy traveling through the mountains to learn a rare skill. Now, think about the process of creation with the 3 medium bases of art in mind. Would you be able to find the specific mountains you had in mind, or portray this specific rare skill complete to what you thought of in your drawings or photos? Would you be able to get a voice depicting the character of this little boy or find the right instruments or sound effects to create an audio experience, describing his full journey?
Where uncertainty lies in the answers to all these questions, writing, however, proves possible to all these questions. It is, after all, a medium that is as limited as the uncapped and ever-growing amount of ideas and thoughts in our minds.
I could write about snowy-capped mountains that are surrounded by rocks and boulders and its roads that lead to a cave that teaches the skill of talking to animals. I could write about the boy who lost his family and found comfort within the animals that surround his neighborhood, similar to how he found a home and belonging on his trails during this journey.
I could even be writing about how this story is a likely lesson on protecting our environment and loving the lives within it.
In other words, when working with words, anything is possible to happen on any notebook or document. It is such a lack of restriction in writing that makes words the simplest yet most efficient form to manipulate and shape, to create pieces or even art that can move people and stir changes.
Working with words is equivalent to the chance of creating abundance; every surreal photo of important events and remarkable moments came from the spoken word of another individual, every catchy song was made from the written word of a lyricist, every masterpiece of a film started from the formatted words in a script. To choose to work with words is to choose the creation of endless possibilities.
Results of various perspectives and interpretations
Where working with words is something of little to no boundaries for the writer, it also is a form similarly liberating for the reader. Unlike visuals where depictions are already imagined and audios have determined tones and accents, words provide context without a fixated portrayal.
For example, you can be seeing the sentence “He worked his magic” as a character who is manipulative, while another might view it as someone who is capable.
It is the reason why so many people continue to study literature; in the eyes of different readers, one story can take on several meanings and interpretations. It is also why journalism can be considered an art form where well-written articles can be read over and over again, taking on different meanings at each point of an individual’s life.
That said, there is no doubt that the medium of visuals and audio can age just as well and vary just as much. However, what they can’t amount equally to is the imagination and perception left for the reader to make. It is almost like an interactive exercise, where writers provide a guideline while readers craft their own possibilities within.
Simply put, reading written pieces is an activity for anyone to become a creator within an already-created work.
“A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom. He has no master except his own soul, and that I am sure is why he does it”
— Road Dahl
Directly from mind to result
No matter what medium, creations are often made with the base of wanting to express ourselves. Whether it is something that came out of our own hearts or any projects that we are assigned to, working with art is also equivalent to emptying our thoughts and memories and turning them into present real-life pieces. In the best-case scenario, it is a result that at the very least, resembles what you had in mind at the very start.
I once heard from a stall manager that the reason why their products are so sought-after relies largely on their value for fair trade, an act to get their items directly from the maker as opposed to going through different agents. To work with words is similar to choosing a field of fair trade, where the published work retains nearly, or even completely similar contents and qualities as the initial idea did.
The final production of most visual and audio related work is the result of various steps and processes, as well as the contribution and influence of many other external factors. Photography would likely need you to source for or collaborate with third-party subjects, props, or locations to translate what you had in mind to your pictures. Audio would require you getting instruments and voices, and often later needing the help of other people or devices to mix or produce the track you first imagined.
Writing, on the other hand, only requires you to put your thoughts and facts onto your document.
The longer the process, the more the number of factors included in it. And the more the number of factors included in the process, the more change is later influenced. Working with words keeps the process simple, organic even. There is no need for the addition of extra resources or a third-party publication platform, nor do you need to worry about the probability of something going wrong in the middle.
When you work with words, your work is accomplished the moment you finish well, writing.
Conclusion
In all our own fields of interest, we all have something that helps us express ourselves better than other materials could.
For me, it is the creative writing of words that captivates me more than anything. I thoroughly enjoy working with words because of how liberating this art form in sprouting creativity and imagination.
And I hope you have gained some inspiration from my personal encounters to pursue this art form further.
My name is James, I am a Content Creator, Professional Food Photographer, and Entrepreneur passionate about sharing tips and tricks within media topics.
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