Writing: a Mental Lava Flow

... but you have to have a working computer!

My laptop is all better! I can write again …

“No one is asking, let alone demanding, that you write. The world is not waiting with bated breath for your article.

Whether or not you get a single word on paper, the sun will rise, the earth will spin, the universe will expand. Writing is forever and it will always be a choice —your choice.” ~Beth Mende Conny

When I saw that quote, I loved it –in many respects, it could have been written about me; maybe about you, as well. It’s true. Nothing will change if we write, or don't write. Writing is a choice and writers write for a lot of reasons:

• It's a job, something they’re paid to do.

• It's a hobby and something they enjoy.

• It's a challenge.

• They’re in love and want to express their feelings.

• It's a driving compulsion, a mental lava flow.

• They have to write --they can’t NOT write.

To fit me, I would have to turn the first sentence around. My husband at the time resented the time –-any time, I devoted to writing. He demanded that I not write. “The world is full of books!” (yes, I know it is). “The world is full of writers trained to write!” (This is a calling and what I have to do).

I had just started to write poetry for children from the piles of notebooks filled with things my children and grandchildren said and did over the years. Some were first-hand experiences or conversations with me; others were overheard while they were at play and pretending.

Maybe the world wasn’t waiting with bated breath for what I want to write, but I knew if I didn’t write about those things, I was going to burst. Yes, it was a choice; it was my choice.

I also understood the sun would rise, the earth would spin, and the universe would expand whether I got a single word on paper, or not –-(and boy, was I glad!)

All writers want to be good. But a dedicated writer wants to be so good, so unique, that they are able to write one thought, one idea, one poem, one story, just one thing in such a way they'll be remembered for it long after they're gone.

"The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say." ~Anais Nin

Now, I need to get back to work …

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