The kind of passion family and friends accuse us of being obsessed about because we neglect them at times. We’ve stayed up too late meeting a deadline, finishing a thought, or tweaking one more sentence. Fellow writers are the only ones who understand. We follow and friend each other for support and higher social media stats.
One of my favorite quotes comes from Harper Lee’s interview by Roy Newquist, from his book, Counterpoint (1964 by Rand McNally): “Writing is a process of self-discipline you must learn before you can call yourself a writer. There are people who write, but I think they’re quite different from people who must write.”
Why do we do it? Because a passion to tell a story rose from the depth of our souls, a character from our imagination became real. We hear them screaming for help because we left them in the middle of a disaster scene when real life interrupted.
We share our WIP with others, “wanting honest feedback,” but not really. Upon hearing the truth of flat characters or disjointed, lack luster plots, we spiral into despair. We pout, eat chocolate, and stare at the delete button, anticipating life as a normal person.
But we can’t—passion to tell the story compels us back from the brink to try again. We sigh and take a fresh look, apologize to our Protagonist, and complete the journey because we must. Maybe someday our family and friends will understand and love us anyway.
Phyllis A. Still 