“Why Prose.?” -Jaime Mathis

As mentioned last Monday, we are launching a blog series in which our Prose. Partners will take on the question, "Why Prose.?"

To kick off the series, this week we welcome author, blogger, and editor, Jaime Mathis (@jaimemathis).

Why Prose.?

Because I want to be better. To strive for excellence in every comma, plot and spelling. To raise my bar by associating with writers more talented, diligent, and inspired than I am. Yes, I want a community that keeps me honest and challenges me to improve because I am a WRITER. Not a dilettante, not someone looking for free therapy and not someone trying to get laid or pick a fight.

Facebook is for people who don’t give a shit about the art of the written word and try to turn everything into a virtual popularity contest that has no reflection on the content, skill or merit of an idea or illustration. There is no place for pettiness or semantics or emotional neediness in Prose. as I imagine it. There are trenches that reach to glory, strung with sentences that are tight to bursting with pulchritude and punch. Prose. because you’re committed to building an empire of narrative and poem that has a fine foundation and something to screw light bulbs into.

I’m here because I want to be stretched within an inch of my skills, called to task on words that don’t quite sing and chided when semi-colons are merely decorative. I’m here because I believe in the power of craftsmanship and that it takes a community to hone a diamond from coal.

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Stay tuned for this narrative in its entirety later today on The Official Prose. Blog at: blog.theprose.com/blog.