This evening I attended an event hosted by the library I work for. Elizabeth Berg, one of my favorite authors, was in town speaking about her life and her writing. What a wonderful thing, to listen to her heartfelt words about her work. So much of what she said resonated with my own internal writer. The thing that struck me most was that she has a physical need to write. She said that writing was a release, something that had to be done, that she’d write even if she wasn’t published. I agreed – so much so that my eyes teared up as she was talking. Because that’s exactly the way it is. Sometimes there are things that just have to be put on paper, that keep me up at night, the words rolling around in my head, words that distract me from my work, that worry at me until I can’t stay away any longer and I sit down and let it out.
A painter has to paint, a dancer must move. And a writer? A writer has to let the words flow.
Oh, I LOVE Elizabeth Berg’s books! Short chapters, in a short book, yet her characetrs and stories have so much depth. I would have loved to hear her speak.
I, too, feel the need to write often. The words racing around my head until I get them typed out. Then, I can sleep, or get on with my day.
Yes Sara, I thought of you while I was listening to her, as I suspected there is a writer in you too. She travels quite a bit doing these talks, almost always associated with a library, check with your library to see if she’s coming, or suggest to them they invite her.
She is MY favorite author, too! What a great experience. I also often feel like that, but I get stuck so much. When I was younger I used to write all the time – journal, poems, letters I never intended to send, short stories (none of which were ever finished, but their beginnings I love). Now I have a much harder time getting it out on paper. I need to work on that.
Melanie, a blog is a really good place to put those things that need to be written…you know you’ve got an audience!