It's IWSG Day. The goal of this blog hop is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without
fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire
can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure
writers of all kinds. The brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh, our brilliant ninja leader. To read other posts, click here.
This month's question: What is my favorite aspect of being
a writer?
A long time ago, I read something
about musicians feeling a kind of “high” after a performance.
Since I sang for many years, it makes sense to me. Maybe it’s blood
pressure, maybe endorphins, but after a good concert, I glowed inside.
Writing delivers a similar reward.
When the words spill out, something elemental stirs and I’m engaged and
engrossed. Of course, words don’t always flow, but even one good sentence
helps, and when the job at hand is editing, I get sucked in while pondering the
exact turn of phrase, the nuance of detail. If I'm interrupted by, say, the
alarm I set each morning so I leave the computer in time for work, or a phone, or
maybe my family, I blink a few times as I return from where I mentally was. It’s always difficult to depart that place, but
warm coals of accomplishment burn for having traveled there.
Sometimes, I go a day
or two without a focused period of writing. Invariably, on the third or
fourth day, I wake up with a craving, the need to sit down in front of the
computer and spill it. For me, the act of writing is medicinal. It
makes me whole again. Without it, the puzzle of me remains incomplete.
