Writers Are Thinkers

One day, I observed something that made me realise that writers are thinkers...And incidentally everyone thinks. Do you see what I am getting at?!!!

I walked into a shop and as I looked around, I saw a notice—quite conspicuous and hanging on a string as if on sale—with the following words:

“Credit come tomorrow.”

Of course, it was overly concise; but it surely got the point across. I did not think much of it at first but after a while, I thought to my self, “How ingenious!”

Whether the one who wrote the notice had realized it or not, he had just made a great piece of writing.

“Three words,” you may say, “How can three words be a great piece of writing?”

The writer had only one motive in mind—to discourage those who have an inordinate desire to get things on credit. His writing, though overly simplistic, achieves this rather noble goal. That in essence, is what defines a great piece of writing—if it achieves its intended purpose.

It also seems that he unwittingly employs a skill that most find quite useful—euphemism; which is a nice way of referring to otherwise unpleasant or offensive things. Not only is it a fancy way of saying, “Beat it; we don’t sell things on credit around here.” But it is also a way of pacifying the otherwise infuriated customer and leaving him with a smile.

How easy is it to come up with such a simple yet effective piece of work? Is it just a spur of the moment kind of thing? Well truthfully speaking some thinking is involved. Obviously, the fabricator of that statement had to sit down and think of the best and least offensive way of getting his point across. But what really does thinking on his part involve?

Writers are thoughtful people and thoughtful people do more than just take a superficial glance at something. Indeed, they do more than just look or hear. They see and listen. One of the definitions of seeing is ‘discerning mentally.’ Listening involves more than just hearing. It more specifically refers to paying attention with a view to acting on what is being heard. Thus the two both involve some kind of understanding and understanding does not come about without premeditation. Yes, thinking begets discernment. By seeing and listening, writers realize not just what to put across but also how to do so.

The creator of the statement quoted above might have sat at home wrecking his brains or he might have heard someone in the market place utter the statement jokingly and instantly became enamoured with it. What ever the case, he thought about it and realized that it would put his point across in a succinct yet humourous manner. Yes, he realized that it would get his point across; and that is a great piece of writing. Don’t you agree?

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