Solace
If you are a writer, chances are writing is like a lover. It may be an illicit lover--you might have a very full life and have to "sneak it in" on the side on top of a day job and family life. It might be, like it is for me, not so much illicit, but definitely the most intimate portion of your life.
I realized that this morning. It's pouring rain here, which is kind of matching my mood. I'll spare you the boring details, but definitely all is not well in my little corner of the world. But there's my writing.
The kids will go off to school, and there it is, waiting for me. My Fake Life. The life in my new manuscript. I can literally dive INTO it. It's not like the writing is over THERE and I am HERE. I am a part of it, and it is a part of me. And sometimes, when things have gone wrong or I am lonely, it is a source of solace.
It's there, always. Even if I am not at the keyboard, that doesn't mean the ideas aren't flowing. I am weaving the story, the words, the characters, as I walk around, drive the car, take a shower. Doesn't matter. It's like wearing a perfume that you never quite shake the scent of. It's ON me 24/7.
And the thing is, it can isolate. I don't need as many connections with others because I have all my Imaginary Friends in my Make-Believe World. No, I'm not crazy. I'm just a writer.
When I grieve, writing is there. When I am lonely, writing is there. It's more of a lover than most lovers--because it stays around past breakfast and is still there the following night and the next and the next. When I am happy, it's there. When I am angry, it's there.
Writing is my lover and friend and my solace.
And you?
I realized that this morning. It's pouring rain here, which is kind of matching my mood. I'll spare you the boring details, but definitely all is not well in my little corner of the world. But there's my writing.
The kids will go off to school, and there it is, waiting for me. My Fake Life. The life in my new manuscript. I can literally dive INTO it. It's not like the writing is over THERE and I am HERE. I am a part of it, and it is a part of me. And sometimes, when things have gone wrong or I am lonely, it is a source of solace.
It's there, always. Even if I am not at the keyboard, that doesn't mean the ideas aren't flowing. I am weaving the story, the words, the characters, as I walk around, drive the car, take a shower. Doesn't matter. It's like wearing a perfume that you never quite shake the scent of. It's ON me 24/7.
And the thing is, it can isolate. I don't need as many connections with others because I have all my Imaginary Friends in my Make-Believe World. No, I'm not crazy. I'm just a writer.
When I grieve, writing is there. When I am lonely, writing is there. It's more of a lover than most lovers--because it stays around past breakfast and is still there the following night and the next and the next. When I am happy, it's there. When I am angry, it's there.
Writing is my lover and friend and my solace.
And you?
posted by Erica Orloff at 7:21 AM
16 Comments:
"I am a part of it, and it is a part of me."
Well said, Erica.
Sometimes, for me, it's a nagging fishwife or a chattering magpie digging its claws into my shoulder, sometimes a sweet soul mate and soothing muse.
But it's always with me, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Writing is my lover and friend and my solace.
For me, writing represents bad things. It's my narcotic (very intense, very very short highs, crashing lows), my illicit lover (I sneak it in at the expense of husband-and-wife time) and my gambling habit (I'm putting in time and money in the hopes of that big, publishing, lottery win).
Like any bad habit, it's very hard to break. For me, it might be downright impossible.
Writing is my madness.
It allows me to go out into the world afterwards and appear relatively sane.
Jude:
Well-said. Sometimes a magpie. Sometimes soothing. Sometimes it gives me insomnia. Sometimes it cures it.
karm:
Never thought of it in an addictive sense. Really interesting take.
E
may:
Brilliant way to put it. God, when I finished THE ROOFER, I got a ton of madness out of my system. I didn't write a word for two weeks afterwards--I was just spent. But, depending on who you talk to . . . I can SEEM relatively sane out in the real world.
:-)
E
Hey girlfriend, guess what? I just downloaded you on iTunes! The Golden Girl and Invisible Girl, to be exact. I may finally get caught up on my Erica Orloff backlist!
Karm! COOL!!!!
Funny thing . . . We have this HUGE discussion over the audio for Invisible Girl because Mai's name, accented as a MY would be hard to understand in narrative, so we went with MAY. Little things you don't think of when you go to audio.
xo
E
A timely post. I was wandering around yesterday in a not particularly good mood (not a bad one, just a bit out of sorts). Then, I cracked the plot outline for my new ms and suddenly my spirits lifted. And I wouldn't have even connected the two if I hadn't read your post.
Yes, writing is a part of me and vice versa. Whether I'd liken it to a lover, I'm not sure. Maybe, a well worn-in partner whose habits you've come to accept!!
Sara:
Somehow, no matter the chaos around here, when I open up a fresh page and start writing, it has a calming effect on me.
:-)
E
I just woke up with the opening lines and framework for the second book in my Nicholas Colt series. I hurried to the computer to write it down, before it disappeared.
How's that for solace!
Jude:
How awesome!!
It's rainy here, so I am being very lazy!
E
What a beautiful post. I've never heard it described this way before, and I love it.
For me, I think it's more like a marriage. It's been around for a long time. Sometimes it's hard, and takes a lot of work. Sometimes it's so easy, and so euphoria-inducing, that I can't imagine anything being better. Other times I neglect it, or address the flotsam and jetsam of it (like promotion and education) without dealing with the intimate core. But it's tied to me in a way no other relationship in my life is.
Wow, Natalie . . . talk about a beautiful way to describe it!
E
Thanks, but it was completely inspired by you! :)
Er, by your description. Otherwise, people might think I dream about being married to you or something.
Natalie:
ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And then laughing some more. :-)
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