Wing ideas through space
Words combust into story
Writers make magic
As a kid, I was pretty content with the way the world was until one day I learned that sometimes the truth is in disguise, misused, and nothing would be the way I wanted it again. That was probably around the time I lost my innocence, my faith, my belief that goodness would always prevail. To turn the world right-side-up, I’d have to change events, change people, change outcomes. That would have been impossible.
So I wrote it instead.
There is no guarantee that what I write will matter to anyone else. Creating is a risky endeavor because artists bare their souls to the world. Not everyone in the audience will like what they see. They might turn away in disgust or derision, and the artist will be shamed. Some artists quit at that point; others trudge onward. Why is that? What makes one artist throw his tools into the deep beyond, forever lost while another artist creates again?
I write because I want to believe in something. I love the feel of a story, how it unravels in my imagination, how it raises questions and concerns and hope. Without story, without the opportunity to believe in something, we are left with only one chance. A sort of Russian roulette, where no one contemplates consequences, choices, or difference-making. When I write, that’s my opportunity to speak up, answer impossible questions, change truth, evoke hope.
My ideas, dreams, wishes, insteads, and what ifs are lyrical on paper, tingle in my throat, give me something to believe in. Even if it is all a lie. It is a lie I am bound and determined to pull off.
Have you ever looked at a page of your writing, I mean, really looked—and pictured yourself as you were when you first wrote those words? What meaning did they hold for you? Has that meaning changed? Were you immersed in that particular spot in your story, or were you distracted? Can you determine, by reading those words, how you conjured them in the first place? How you felt when you committed them to paper? Did you throw them together because you were tired or feeling blocked, or did you carefully cultivate them?
I read passages I wrote years ago which hurl me back in time, to the exact moment I put them down on paper. I remember how I felt when I came up with those ideas. How joyful I felt, surprised, spellbound. Writing a story is my soul making magic. To write a moment that matters makes me want to do it again. To write a scene and see it five drafts later, still breathing, still moving the story forward, makes me want to do it again. To write something to believe in is all I need to
do it again.
Beautiful post. Creating meaning through story is at the core of who we are as humans, since we first gathered in caves. Thank you for this, it resonates so much. I will carry your thoughts with me today.
Hi Amanda,
Absolutely, storytelling has been a part of humankind since day one. I’m glad you liked the thoughts. Have a wonderful, creative day!
There is only one thing I can possibly say about this post; Beautiful.
Thank you, Commander. It meant a lot to me to write it.
It’s funny you mentioned what ifs, I just wrote a new limebird piece on what ifs
You writing about writing in itself is lyrical and beautiful, it’s no lie that it’s a magic you possess very well!
Hi Laura,
That is uncanny, isn’t it. I love the question of ‘what if’. It always takes me to into the far reaches of imagination.
Wow, thanks for your compliment. That’s so lovely to hear.
Just beautiful. You so eloquently wrote what writing means to me. “Writing a story is my soul making magic” – that sentence is pure magic itself. Printing out and keeping
Hey Fandina,
Aww, really? You’re so sweet to say that, and I’m so honored
Have a beautiful day!
It is interesting to me – that it was sadness and possibly betrayal that drove you to write. Would you have had the same drive without the hurt? Perhaps it is pain that prompts us to pick up the pencil or open the laptop and in turn, we touch other people through the “magic” of our words. Beautiful writing, Kate…as always.
Hi Amy,
Unfortunately, I think tragedy and sadness are strong vehicles for the imagination, that need to escape into another dimension. That’s not to say that I’m not inspired by happiness, because I am. Hard to explain the difference. Hmm. Maybe I’ll write a post about, lol
Wow, I learn a lot from this post. I guess honing our writing skill is part of of feeling the magic of writing, and of creating the meaning. Thank you for sharing!
Subhan Zein
Hi Subhan,
Thanks! I’m so happy that this post gives you something to think about. I hope you have a wonderful day full of meaning
Beautiful post, and the very thing I needed to read as I begin to have doubts about my writing, especially about my storytelling. I have had few magical moments when writing connects with something deep inside. I need to trust that connection and stop second guessing myself.
Hi Lisa,
Absolutely. I know how difficult it is to connect that deeply and not shy away from it. I think it does take practice, which will come from writing daily and writing what you truly love. Also, I find it helps to write things that you learn about as you write (writing what you know is bull, IMO).
Have a beautifully creative day
We all have doubts but just seeing words that you’ve written should be seen as magic!
Thank you, Victoria. That is so wonderful to read/hear. I meant every word, and I’m happy that it reads ‘magically’.
Have great writing day, okay?
This is beautiful, Kathryn. Writing is alchemy when it works. Isn’t it something when you come across a couple sentences you have no recollection of writing? And you realize how caught up you must have been–kind of lost, really–so the words were just pouring out of you. You take care over there
Hi Kathryn,
Great word: alchemy. I suddenly have this image of a turn-of-the-century pharmacy (but pharmacy is the wrong word, I can’t think of a better one right now).
Yes, we get lost, absolutely. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that it works so well, deep inside.
Thanks so much for your kind words. I hope you have a beautiful, creative, and magical day
What if? Ah, I ask myself that every day and I have for 60 years now. Keep it going. You have a wonderful talent and I’m very proud of you.
Also turn of the century pharmacy could be called chemist as I recall from my youth.
Thanks. I appreciate the encouragement, and I know you’re rooting for me. Yes, chemist is the word I was looking for.
I completely understand and relate to what you’re saying; great post.
While there are plenty of doubts, I also sometimes look back at something I’ve written and think, “Wow! I wrote that?” I often can’t remember how I came up with the words or the concept… they seemingly flowed out of me and onto the computer. I love that feeling.
Hi Anne,
There probably are more doubts than ‘wows’ but I think because the wows are so fulfilling they outweigh the doubts, don’t they? When it flows like that, so that we can’t figure out how we did it, then we know we’re doing something we are meant to do.
Yes – the magic, these thoughts and feelings are probably the best part of writing.
Hi Sheila,
I so agree! Much better than the post-writing part (revisions), although now that I say that there is an aspect to revision that I do enjoy. Still, hard to beat the magic. Hope you’re having a good writing day!
Lovely post. Sometimes we get so bogged down with the writing that we forget the magic of it – and the stories we are drawn to tell.
Hi Louise,
Yes, if we take it too seriously then it becomes less of a passion and more like a chore. The magic helps remind us of our priorities. Thanks for commenting.
For me, the doubtful moments are definitely more plentiful than the wow moments. But one moment of wow can nullify many doubts. Nothing compares to that feeling when the words and ideas take a shape that feels so right. I just wish I could bottle that feeling for the doubting times!
Hey JM,
Definitely! One moment of wow can be enough to sustain us along a tumultuous path of writing.
If you ever figure out how to bottle it up, I’ll buy some from you
You captured what many of us feel. Thank you. Now I don’t have to make a lame attempt at it.
Hi Robin,
Haha, that’s funny, and I appreciate the generous compliment. Hope your day is filled with magical writing!
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Terrific post! It’s amazing to reread something you wrote it be tied back in time. I can remember what inspired the character to say that. And what was going on in my life at that time that I needed to write that out.
Hi Kourtney, it’s a wonderful feeling to remember those moments. Makes writing that much more special. Thanks for commenting.
Sorry for the typo in my comment. “It be tied back in time” was supposed to be “and be tugged back in time.” My Dragon speak software is messing around.
Simply brilliant!
Thanks, Dennis
Beautiful post–I love “words combust into story.’ That says it so well. Writing is a magical process, and you’re right, words can take you back in time to specific feelings and memories.
Hi Char, thank you so much. I love remembering where I’ve been and how I felt when I first wrote something. I think that helps bring deeper meaning to the passage or the character or the setting. Thanks for commenting.
I rather wish there were a “love” button rather than a merely “like” one, for posts like these, Kate. It’s so inspiring to know that there are people (like me!) who love creating worlds…and who also wonder about why we are so driven to create them, and the people who reside within them.
I have a special place where most of my best writing seems to happen: a little Japanese heater table, where sometimes a cat will come to cuddle up with me, and where there are no distractions. The feeling I get just sitting there again fills me with all kinds of memories. It usually only happens for less than a second, but thanks for reminding me of that!
We must all go through a period where the world as it is – a globe spinning through space, seemingly randomly without any plan for hopes or dreams or loves – disillusions us. It can be a traumatic experience, yes, or just a disappointing one. But isn’t that what we try to overcome?
Thanks for posting this! I agree with the other comments that have said this is just full of great “why I write” vibes!
Hi Mayumi, sorry for replying so late. I have been away on a vacation and I didn’t bring my computer with me.
I know what you mean about the feeling you get “sitting there” and how special that is to you. When we are that deeply and profoundly connected to our work we can never forget important moments. And yes, I think part of the reason we write is to undo events that we can’t in reality.
I’m happy you enjoyed the post. I’m loving the enthusiastic comments!
Beautiful post. I don’t often reread my old work, but my novels exist as time capsules about who I was at a certain period of time. Especially my first fully realized novel, which began as an anti-love story and turned into something else, because I met my hubby midway through the revision process. And I remember clearly sitting on the couch in his bachelor pad, computer on my lap, working on that book while he made me dinner.
Hi Laura, sorry for the late reply. I was away on a family vacation and didn’t bring my computer with me.
I love how you use ‘time capsule’ to describe your novels. Isn’t that the truth. I think it’s wonderful, like kismet, the timeliness of meeting your husband. You have a sweet memory to cherish, and I think that would make your book even more special. Thanks for sharing.
You have a magical way with words – inspiring post!
Hey Kim, sorry for the late reply. I was away on a family vacation and didn’t bring my computer with me. Thank you for reading the post and your kind compliment. I plan to swing by your blog soon! Coming home I nearly fainted when I saw that my email inbox surpassed the 500 mark, 450 of them blog-related. This must be how a literary agent feels, lol.
Wow, that is a lot of emails! No worries or need to apologize. I’m not exactly known as the most timely blogger…my replies to comments or posts don’t follow a schedule and so I don’t have any sort of time expectations of other bloggers. I hope you have a lovely vacation and spend lots of quality time with family. =)
Haha, yes, it was a little overwhelming. Hopefully I will get a handle on it in a week or 2, or 4 …
TTFN
Thanks for stopping at my blog today! I read back over my writing and go WOW, I have grown in my writing. I have always been better at writing than even speaking. I just have a way with words. What a beautiful post!!
Hi Jackie, sorry for the late reply. I was away on a family vacation and didn’t bring my computer with me.
It is one of the best feelings in the world to re-read your stuff and know that you did it well. Writing can be so subjective, but when your gut tells you that you nailed it–then we must bathe in the glow.
Thanks so much for commenting.
This is brilliant! I can completely relate to all of the feelings and emotions you’ve experienced. I’m currently editing my NaNoWriMo novel, and it’s uncanny how I remember exactly where I was, who I’d talked to the day a certain scene was written, how I was feeling, or what I was drinking…it’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced before, and it’s difficult to say whether that’s a good or a bad thing. Regardless, thanks for this – it’s so beautifully written, and it brings about a sense of understanding and shared experience, which is also beautiful.
Hi Erin, thank you so much for visiting my blog! I apologize for the late response. I was away on a family vacation and didn’t bring my computer with me.
Oh, those NaNoWriMo novels can really affect us, probably because we are under the gun when we’re writing them. I have written two, and both occupy a specific portion of my memory bank.
Haha, I hear you–it’s often difficult to know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing when we are deeply connected and highly attuned to the words we wrote. I would like to think on one level it is good because it speaks to our passion (we’re the ones who won’t give up easily, if ever). But I can see how it has the potential to be bad because it would be hard to accept criticism of the book when it is ingrained in us like that.
Thank you for commenting. I hope you have a lovely day!
I have the say that my reasons for writing (at first) were quite similar. It was a form of comping mechanism. I could create a world as I see fit where events unfolded as I wanted them to. I do believe that people who possess this drive and need to write are the best authors. Which is why I’m looking forward to read your work when it’s complete!
Good luck with it!
Hi Fredrik,
wow, that’s a very nice compliment and now I feel the pressure, lol. You’re probably onto something with the ‘need to write’, it is a compelling force isn’t it. I bet your writing reflects your need to write as well.
from the moon the earth
a swirling globe of beauty
if our eyes could see
your posts are always pearls
David in Maine USA ——-> next door to NH
David, your haiku is lovely and one I will always treasure. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
I started writing a little more than a year ago because I found my voice, not that my mouth isn’t open flapping in the breeze. I have no trouble talking, but writing stories is the most pleasurable experience for me now!
2 years ago I got the idea to write a snarky non-fiction book, but after blogging (started spring of 2011) I completely changed my mind. I am rewriting a paranormal fiction book. So much easier to make up the lives of others than to write about real ones!
Great post! Thanks for bringing it to the party!
Hi Susie,
Oh, I know what you mean about how easy it is to make up stories. I have to fight the urge to embellish whenever I’m sharing a true experience, lol. Paranormal is a genre I have never tried, but I read a great one called The Mercy of Thin Air and I was not the same afterward.
Thanks for swinging by!
That title sounds very cool! I will check it out! Thanks.
Here from Susie’s blog party. Great post! We sometimes get so caught up in the publishing end of things that we forget how important it is to love what we do. Thanks for the reminder!
Hi Stacy,
The publishing aspect is a scene-stealer, for sure
Too many people spend their whole lives griping about not loving their work, and I think that is a shame. Writers may not have it easy, but it’s too hard to resist.
Thanks for visiting.
Hello, I found you from Susie’s party!
What you say completely resonates with me. In fact, a similar thing happened to me when I was seventeen. I discovered my father was not in fact my father. Secrets and lies, the withholding of truth from the people who’d held themselves up to have the high moral platform, with deep seated ethics and beliefs and brought me up within a tight perimeter caused a psychological schism. The shock of which took many years to heal. Trust had been broken and it wasn’t until I met my husband that I really dealt with it.
And strangely enough there is a similar issue for my heroine in my first book where she helps the hero deal with his past by confronting the truth that once a person’s gone or dies words unspoken cause heartbreak and a grief that can never be overcome.
Writers definitely use their creativity to construct their character’s reality. And we’re bound to use our own emotional experiences to help our characters make sense of the situation we’ve put them in.
Great post!
Hi CC,
Gosh, that must have been a traumatic discovery. And at such a formidable age, too. I’m so happy that you found some ways to work through that pain and that you met a great guy to help you.
Your novel sounds compelling, and I agree that writers ultimately connect threads of their lives to their stories. I know I have done it unconsciously and I’ll look back and think, oh boy, is that obvious?
Thanks so much for swinging by. Have a great day.
Hi! Saw your link at Susie’s party! Lovely post, sums up why I write too–especially when you wrote “To write a moment that matters makes me want to do it again.” So true
Hi Coleen,
Thank you so much. I love hearing why other people write. Especially when you feel helpless in reality, knowing that we can undo some of that in our stories is comforting.
Thanks for swinging by.
What a beautiful post. I just popped in from Susie’s blog party. Sometimes we forget the hows and whys of our writing beginnings.
How true. It’s not an aspect many writers think about, or often. Even though I have been writing a long time, I didn’t always know why it was so important to me. When it did hit me, I knew I would never forget.
Thanks for commenting.
Its so true! Creating the story, from thought to page, the whole process is magical and so is the result.
Story telling, in one way or another has always been part of my life and that’s got a lot to do with the thrill I feel at sharing a tale with a willing audience.
Hi Ileandra,
When you can have a whole lifetime of storytelling, that’s magical in itself. Thanks for swinging by.
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