Writers are tough. They write when their hearts are
breaking, they’re sick, they’re family members are in trouble. Writing is first
for them at many levels.
I recently had a friend tell me she had three family
members ill. And she didn’t know what she would do about her writing. I told
her to put it aside. And I could tell that guilt was guiding her. She felt as
if putting it down for even a few minutes was somehow not honoring the craft.
It took some serious conversation to convince her it was all right to tackle
the family issues first. Priorities—a tough juggle for writers.
Writing is the one craft that has your heart. You don’t clock
in at nine and out at five. Your mind is forever dashing off the lines of a
scene, the dialogue of a character. It isn’t something that turns off automatically
when it’s time to make supper, do the dishes, wash a load of laundry.
You watch the news and a unique story starts to weave
through your mind. All else must come to a screeching halt.
Writers get sick and immediately an idea perks. What if
someone felt this way and had been poisoned. The writer snuggles under a couple
quilts and wonders what being poisoned really would feel like. Or maybe a rare
disease had finally made its way to the writer’s town and, alas, the writer had
become the next victim. Enter a new scene and the CDC. Hazmat outfits rush
through the front door.
Writers have to make choices for more folks than
themselves. A sick child, parent, friend just as two lovers finally cross the
abyss and discover each other. What to do?
I know of no other heartier folks in my acquaintance who
are able to juggle so many daily chores, emergencies, and still manage to write
the next page. Yessir, they are a tough, dedicated bunch.
6 comments:
Linda, I agree. I think that's why I become so alive when at writing conferences or while having lunch with a writing friend--we're kindred souls. We "get" each other!
Absolutely. Everything is grist for the mill.
I'm even catching the 'syndrome' of a writers creativity! Great post. And all the best to the writer with so much on his/her plate.
Thanks, Elaine for the input. I agree, being with other writers really fills my soul! I feel refreshed.
This reminds me of an observation by Lauraine Snelling. When all she wanted to do was write, she had to live through family problem after family problem. And those real-life heartbreaks have provided the fodder she needed to go deeper in the human experience and to write for others experiencing their own hard times.
When my husband had his two strokes three years ago, I remember when leaving the hospital, the first thing I wanted to do was get home and write or read clients' work. It was so cathartic at a time when nothing else made sense!
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