All for the Love of Writing

Today my intention was to blog so early that the birds still chirped out my window. But, alas, it wasn't to be so. I woke with this weird blurb on the left side of my vision. I'll admit, that made the drive to school rather interesting. Without the ability to focus, I had to 'use the force' to finagle my way along the well known six minute drive. I felt like a donkey in a coal mine, finding my way in the dark by memory alone.  The image of driving off the road kept flashing in my mind, me in my pajamas and flip flops trying to explain to a cop how I'd ended up with my gas guzzling Suburban in a ditch off the side of the road.  I'm not sure if a migraine is a legitimate excuse for a traffic accident-would I be eligible for a deferment?

I'm happy to say it didn't come to that. My two eldest safely made it to school, and I eventually made it home where I popped several pills and lied down to read the end of a novel I simply couldn't put down.  (Probably not smart to read fine print on a bright ipad while dealing with a migraine-but still that didn't stop me.) And so this leads me into my topic of the day.

Obsession. As defined by Dictionary.com: the domination of one's thoughts or feelings by a persistent 
idea, image, desire, etc."


A mighty big thanks to Dictionary.com for that highly applicable explanation for those of us who write for the love of writing. Not just the love, though. If you're anything like me, you're compelled, driven. The story is there, almost tangible, shimmering in the air. You can taste it when you breathe, feel it on your tongue, swallow it down and feel it warming every fiber of your being. It fills you to the brim, loading you down, drowning everything else out,  and then when you can't contain it any longer, certain you'll explode if you try, it flows out. Delicious, indelible letters on the page. Your writing, it haunts you, consuming your every thought and action, calling to you until you find yourself at the keyboard, yet again.

And this obsession is different from the ones in the past. LOTRO was great, spider solitaire somehow satisfying. But writing is altogether a different beast. On its own plane, in its own dimension. Writing is a place where you live and it's all your own. You make it your home, fill it with furniture and appliances. There are no compromises. You can paint the walls to your liking and throw your underwear on the floor (though that may prove for some sloppy writing).

Mundane chores fill you with resentment.  Every second away from writing is only spent yearning to get back. You find your eyes anxiously drawn to the clock on your phone at least ten times as you wait in the grocery line checkout. Could the cashier be any slower, do they have to chat with everyone in line like they're best friends? You bite your tongue against the onslaught of impatient verbiage begging to make itself known. Reminding yourself that you're not that kind of person, you don't like to tear others down, that they are simply trying to do a good job. At the same time you barely resist the urge to shove them out of the way and do the job for them. Two words: Self Check.

So, today I send out an accolade to all those writers who despite the every day obstacles that get in the way, still manage to tune into their creativity and get those words on the page. For without them, the world would be an awfully dull place.