Words are a necessary component of my life. We writers are a strange breed. The one thing all writers I know have in common, we write. Day. Night. At work. At play. In the middle of playing with our kids, socializing with friends and family, during dinner, during sex, while we sleep...every minute of every day, our dizzy brains are saturated with words and the obsession of putting them together in a story or prose of some sort. We carry scraps of paper; frantically tap in little snippets of story lines or poetry into our Smartphone's or tablets that are ever within reach. People who don't have an obsession with words, do not understand this. Even artists of other genre's don't really get it, unless they are songwriters, then I think they do somewhat. Writers could no more stop writing incessantly than stop breathing, it is an essential part our living beings. Is it a blessing or a curse? I think a little bit of both. I have people become annoyed with me because I'm constantly writing, thinking about writing, spending far too much time right here in this spot, glued to my keyboard and fixed on my monitor. There is an unnatural fear that if the words do not get physically on the paper or the screen that they will dissipate. Gone forever, never to be in that particular order, making that so essential statement, telling the can't be lived without story or poem. It's a bit of OCD, words meeting order. There's a satisfaction and necessity in it that is like nothing else I can compare it to.
So, say I'm flaky. Get annoyed with me when I'm tapping into my phone while you're in the middle of telling me an oh so important event of your day, and it may very well be important, but the words in my head that need to be recorded in some fashion at that moment are like, well...like the need for a junkie to get a fix. I honestly think I might implode if the words don't get in some order for me to work with them in solitude later. I've written entire novels from just a line in a song ( "Bright Lights" ) or from people watching sitting in a sidewalk bar in the airport in Phoenix ( "Random Encounters" ) or numerous pieces of prose and/or poetry from simple things, like a highway billboard featuring a picture of a dove that inspired "Broken Wings", which is featured in the anthology "LifeLoveLust" .
A dear F/B friend, Duncan Long who is a mega talented artist with many inspiring pieces to his credit, made a statement last week that inspired me to write about this subject. With his permission:
"Explaining the creative mind and emotions that accompany it to someone who is not creative is like explaining colors to one of those unfortunate souls who has been blind from birth."
Check him out: Facebook and please visit his website and marvel at the awesome examples of his beautiful artistry. There's also a poignant reflection of an artists psyche here at his blog .
Duncan pens it very well, and with few words I might add. I admire that as I'm inordinately wordy. Thank you, Duncan, for lending some insight to our wacky world.
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I keep reading that being a writer is a business. It must be treated as a business in order to become successful. Certain business aspects need be applied when it comes to the selling part of publishing or self publishing, whichever your avenue, but to me, the most important part is being able to get the right words, in the right order, giving the right message and telling a good story or there isn't any business end to it. If the writing isn't good, who will buy? Oh...people might be suckered in by a slick ad campaign, but won't stay there long when word gets around that the book is crap, or at very least over-hyped. I enjoy writing. Promoting...not so much. Speaking of which, I'll be back early in the week with details of my radio interview this week. Streaming live. Oy!
Do you have an obsession with getting the words to come together in a certain fashion? Yeah, me too. Take a break from feverishly jotting things out, and hug somebody today! Due to my recent declaration of isolation, I have not, and I probably won't but nothing says you can't or shouldn't. I'm going to partake in my other creative obsession and bake some cookies.
Solitarily yours,
~ K
~ K
