Writing is Like… (Part 3)

Writing is like building a bird’s nest.

It’s easy to get stuck with writing, to think, “I have nothing new to say.” As the oft-repeated Biblical proverb says, “There is nothing new under the sun.” Most of the time the point of writing is not to create something new, but rather to assemble the available materials in the best way possible, just as a bird finds the best sticks, grass, and feathers and puts them in her nest.

Here’s a video of a great tit building a nest. (You can skip through it and still get the general idea.)

One thing I find fascinating about this video is that the bird doesn’t stop building her nest once she starts laying eggs–she keeps working and finding new materials until all her eggs are laid.

What are the components you can use in your nest? If you’re writing an essay, these will be your quotes and sources, your examples, your explanations. If you’re writing fiction, these will be your story tropes, character archetypes, and genre conventions.

Even if two birds use the same materials, their nests won’t turn out exactly the same. It is the same with writing–the point is not to create an identical product, but to use the wealth of materials available in the world around you.

Read more I’ve written on Metaphors about Writing.