This Is When It’s Important
Feeling absolutely looneytunes lonely and down today, after a restless night.
This is when writing is so very important. It catches me when I fall. Writing has never, ever let me down.
I’m sometimes asked how I write when I’m upset or depressed. My feeling is, this is the time it’s most critical to write. The act of creation flies in the face of everyday (or even Big Major) Life Crap. It also helps restore perspective or provide a little distance from whatever’s bugging you.
So today, it’s the work that’s got to carry me. That and sending up the bat-signal to my friends. And listing the things I’m grateful for. That should help.
But at the end of the day it’s just going to be me and those words on the page. My most faithful friends, my helpers, my most long-term of lovers and helpful of assistants. I need that magic today, and writing never fails to deliver, thank God.
One more thing to be grateful for.
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Tags: not worth chewing through the leather straps, what we know is true
September 28th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
There’s always something to be said for having complete control over something. Having the ability to kill someone that is annoying you, even if it is only in a story.
September 28th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
I know exactly what you mean. I’m a glass artist, and I’ve had a rather tumultuous life the last several years. My one piece of sanity through everything has been my glass. It’s there for me through all the ups and downs, my One Precious Thing. Sometimes my muse takes vacations, but I can still melt ’stuff’ and at least put a light in the window so she finds her way home. I can work angry, I can work happy, I can work sad. I can look at some of my creations, after the fact, and remember exactly where my head was that day. The glass and the fire keep me honest, at least to myself.
September 28th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
@KarenS – WOW! Your remark about putting a light in the window so your muse finds her way back home is most profound. IMO. Really hit home this morning. Thank you. Hope you won’t mind that I’m going to stick that up on my wall. Wonderful inspiration to just keep at it when things get tough. @Miss Lilith – on the money as usual. Some of the best stuff spews forth when we’re tired/upset/not having a great day. Now Miss Muse, the light is on, you’d better get your little tush back home. It’s cold out there…
September 29th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
I’m curious, do you ever use your own emotions as a template for writing? Say, if you’re feeling particularly sad or angry about something, do you use the experience in your stories?
September 29th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Mike: Oh yes. It’s ALL material. The writer in my head never stops taking notes and figuring out ways to describe things.
September 29th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
I find writing to be very helpful to me when I’m especially having a bad day. Writing gets me through anything, and like you said, gives me the chance of seeing everything in a different light. Happy to hear that your writing is going well.
September 30th, 2009 at 11:26 am
[...] love, love, love this post: when it’s important to write. Boy, is that the [...]