Writing Life

Perhaps creating something is nothing but an act of profound remembrance.
- Rainer Maria Rilke

If you have the urge to write then you must listen and follow it. Although many people harbor such an urge, far fewer actually give in to it. Sometimes the fantasy of writing, of fame or that glow of celebrity may fuel the fleeting desire, and if this is the case then that urge will quickly die away.

If instead you feel a deeper, more obstinate yearning, one that does not ever fully disappear, then you are being gnawed by that creative source that dwells within each of us, that desire to learn and to know.

Flannery O'Connor said, "I write to find out what I know."

This is as worthy a reason to write as any, and in the end, it might be the greatest reason of all.

Our pen (or keyboard) serves as a penlight with which to explore the dark reaches of our inner world. This is why so many people begin writing and then stop, or stop and start and stop and start (yours truly included), because the anxiety gets the better of us. It's hard to feel lost and uncertain much of the time, especially when it's your own choice!

And yet, the pearls you inevitably discover through the journey of writing make the effort worth it. There is really nothing quite like seeing the breath of spirit come into form, into the body of a word or sentence or story. Or you might open your journal a month or a year later and uncover an insight about yourself or the world that you had not recognized before. So, if you feel the urge to write, by all means, go for it. None of us is getting any younger!

It is enough to want to write. Write.
- Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones

Favorite Writing Books

• If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland
• Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
• The Courage to Write by Ralph Keyes
• Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
• The Writing Life by Annie Dillard

For more information on Catherine's writing consultations, speaking, and other services, please contact us or call (910) 352-6543.