Wednesday Wanderings

Had trouble coming up with a topic for today's post, so on a whim, I inputted "writing" and "fantasy" into a random blog topic generator.  It spat back:  "Why We Love Writing (And You Should, Too!)"

No, no, don't.  I'm put in mind of the Dorothy Parker quote:  "If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers, the second greatest favor you can do them is to present them with copies of The Elements of Style. The first greatest, of course, is to shoot them now, while they’re happy."

In any case, it seems like writers exist (or at least, this writer exists) in a constant state of paradox. We love writing and loathe it, beating our heads against the wall when the beautifully rendered scene in our minds turns into drivel on the page. Our work is derivative drek, but somehow - simultaneously! - worthy of publication by the big houses, glowing reviews, maybe even a movie ...

And the ability to hold both these states in suspension, often at the same time, is probably what makes the writing work. Stray too far in one direction or the other, and the result is stagnation.

So yes, if you're encouraging someone to write, you're telling them, "You should be a little bit unhappy all the time!" On the other hand, you're also telling them to be a bit happy all the time, so ... perhaps it balances out.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.