en route

I like to watch people do their "thing."  If it's glassblowing or motocross or sushi cheffing, I like it.  I've had the pleasure of doing a lot of it. Really, you just have to ask. They'll even talk to you about why they do what they do, why they love it so much. Sometimes, like me, they don't have that bit of metacognition nailed down. That's okay.

Yesterday, I was chatting with a family member who is a fab cook. She's toying with the idea of going professional at some point. She said in cooking, she best likes the idea that there's a beginning and an end. (it's very unlike her current job)

In other words, cooking is a 180 from writing.

So it got me to thinking: why do I like to write? Writers talk all the time about our obsession, etc.  But why? Not so easy to nail down.



I've always been a journey person. I've always been able to turn my back on my art once it's finished. I'm probably the last person to think of my writing as my "baby" because a baby is a completed item in and of itself (albeit one with loads of potential.) I know I'm generally more comfortable en route than at my destination.  And writing is nothing if not a journey. However, that makes me think how I tend to not submit enough. I finish stuff, but I have things that are never "done."  I'm sure other writers out there can relate. And that might not bug me quite enough. Because, at the end of the day, it's the journey.

So what is it for you?

3 comments:

Bernita said...

The journey is the fun.

Beth Partin said...

For me it's the words, stringing them together. Which may make me more of a poet than a fiction writer. Though I keep getting these stories in my head too, which won't just go away.

ssas said...

I'm wishing for words right now, Beth, trying for an evocative, surreal moment with Trinidad. Sometimes I think I should explore poetry, but I really don't like it much except for epic poetry, which of course tells a story.

So I guess for me it's mostly about story, which always is a journey.