Tom, I'm right with you on this. I really never have written because i felt consciously that i had something to say. But then--it turned out that I wanted to express something because there it was on the page in black and white. I had a lot of bad years (didn't we all?), and my stories/books were all about being unhappy. Then i got happy…
Tom, I'm right with you on this. I really never have written because i felt consciously that i had something to say. But then--it turned out that I wanted to express something because there it was on the page in black and white. I had a lot of bad years (didn't we all?), and my stories/books were all about being unhappy. Then i got happy! And now i'm in a new place, and seeing the world anew, and my lack of writing seems to reflect that. Though i also see this gentle push inside of me toward the page again. To write something broader, if that makes sense. Still me, but less self-absorbed, less blinded, more open. If this sounds vague, that's because i'm not clear on any of it myself. But getting happy (while still dealing with the past) is a bit of a mind blower and I'm still not perfectly comfortable with this new normal, as it's so different from a lifetime of thinking feeling bad was feeling good. WAY MORE THAN YOU ASKED FOR.
Mary, it's fascinating how 'ourselves' finds its way into our writing isn't it? A lot of my stories feature characters who are in some way parentless. I'd never really thought about my own dad being absent, he was loving but worked away in the week when I was growing up. Somehow that part of me surfaces in my writing, even though it was never something I set out to 'say' it is no doubt making itself heard!
Writing is like talking to the kind of therapist who just nods as you talk and waits for you to figure it all out. We end up completely writing about our own issues-- it can be so transparent. (My first book has no father in it. You better believe my own dad pointed it out to me, but until then I hadn't really noticed.)
Tom, I'm right with you on this. I really never have written because i felt consciously that i had something to say. But then--it turned out that I wanted to express something because there it was on the page in black and white. I had a lot of bad years (didn't we all?), and my stories/books were all about being unhappy. Then i got happy! And now i'm in a new place, and seeing the world anew, and my lack of writing seems to reflect that. Though i also see this gentle push inside of me toward the page again. To write something broader, if that makes sense. Still me, but less self-absorbed, less blinded, more open. If this sounds vague, that's because i'm not clear on any of it myself. But getting happy (while still dealing with the past) is a bit of a mind blower and I'm still not perfectly comfortable with this new normal, as it's so different from a lifetime of thinking feeling bad was feeling good. WAY MORE THAN YOU ASKED FOR.
Mary, it's fascinating how 'ourselves' finds its way into our writing isn't it? A lot of my stories feature characters who are in some way parentless. I'd never really thought about my own dad being absent, he was loving but worked away in the week when I was growing up. Somehow that part of me surfaces in my writing, even though it was never something I set out to 'say' it is no doubt making itself heard!
Writing is like talking to the kind of therapist who just nods as you talk and waits for you to figure it all out. We end up completely writing about our own issues-- it can be so transparent. (My first book has no father in it. You better believe my own dad pointed it out to me, but until then I hadn't really noticed.)
One of my writing professors said that writers write to discover what they have to say rather than the other way round.
Yes, this is it exactly.