Writing my way through the A-to-Z blogging challenge, I’ve tasked myself with throwing open the cabinet of curiosities and wondrous things I call my brain and leading you on a tour of what actually resides in there – all through the lens of unusual, obscure, or simply charming-to-me words.
W is for…
writative (adj) – marked by the desire or inclination to write; inclined to write a lot
Someone asked me the other day why I write. It’s a good question isn’t it? I write because I have things to say. Because it feels like a joy to celebrate my voice. There was a time in my life when I literally felt like I didn’t know how to write – that I had things to say but just didn’t know how to get them out. That seems so strange to me now, because I feel like I can write about anything. I’ve come home to myself and now I want to share. I want to use my words, my writing, to examine more closely, to articulate what I know, what I believe, what I’m curious about. Writing helps me find my position, writing helps me clarify, writing helps bring closure and helps open things up. Writing is fun. Writing is a gift to myself, and a gift I offer to others. Writing is an act of discipline. Writing is an act of joy. Writing is an act of connection. Writing is an act of revelation.
One of the premises of this blogging challenge was that I’d give you a glimpse at how my mind works. That you both get to see what interests me, but I also show you how I think about things. And if you’ve been following along for a few posts, you understand my world is pretty much stream-of-consciousness. And my mind has already jumped to a few things I want to share on the topic of writing.
The photo above is a page in one of my journals. And in many ways I think it provides a perfect glimpse of who I am. My art is simple. But in that one page I reveal lots about myself – I love flowers (I’m a flower essence practitioner and aromatherapist among other things); I like beading; I’m fascinated by hands; I adore paper, particularly handmade paper (the base sheet on this piece is filled with seeds and threads, which are important symbols to me); and scent is a huge part of my life (I’ve used sandalwood and ginger essential oils on the paper).
But not everything is on the surface either Just like this journal page where you have to open the hands to read what I’ve written, you might have to hang around a bit and look to know that I often write poetry on my feet; that I’ve been recording my dreams since I was a teenager; that I believe having a pair of red shoes is mandatory for my overall life happiness.
If you peek beneath the hands in my journal you’ll find this message:
It’s one of the things I most love to write about.
Jumping to another brain path, a writer friend of mine just found a typewriter she’s in love with. She’s been looking for one for some time, and now that she has one she’s ready to see what writing on one is really like.
Isn’t this vintage photo fabulous? I absolutely want a furry assistant to help with my typing.
I can totally see myself pounding out my great American mystery novel on a typewriter. Except for the fact I don’t actually want to write a mystery. But still…
I have no doubt though that my current writing efforts are aided by the fact I have a typewriter-headed angel keeping watch over things.
She might also be keeping an eye on my dreams and offering inspiration as well. Some time ago I had a fabulous typewriter dream:
My husband and I were talking about how things don’t always develop as expected. For example, weren’t all the great/terrible sci-fi movies of the 50s and 60s convinced that we’d have walking talking ready-to-do-anything, dispense-your-wishes-at-your-command robots? That hasn’t happened. True we have ever-more sophisticated computers doing way more than those tin can robots promised, but still. No robots. Things moved along a different path. We took a moment to be ever-so-slightly disappointed, but optimism kicked right back in and my husband began to wax poetic about the 3-D printers. And how if you think about it they’re way more amazing than the mind can almost bear. And as is the way of dreams, we began hunting through the house convinced we had one.
But instead of finding a printer, I found, sitting in place of my laptop, an old beat up typewriter. It had seen a lot of hard use, but it was radiating satisfaction and love, and I imagined some famous author had pounded out a lot of wonderful works on it. When I sat down and put my fingers on the keys to test it out, the first thing that popped into my head to type was “Tulips from Tupelo.” And the second I had that final o typed out, up pops a tulip from the paper carriage. I couldn’t believe it and I was so excited and delighted. So excited in fact I woke myself up.
I couldn’t resist creating an image for my dream journal.
No doubt the length of these daily posts of mine are a clear indication that I’m writative, and I’m grateful to all of you who’ve patiently waded through following my brain tracks on whatever journey they’re taking us. But now it’s your turn. Write something. Tell me why you like to write. What kind of journals do you keep? Do you love Tulips? Ever been to Tupelo. Do tell – you know I love to hear.
I write a lot too, mostly because I have stories to share 🙂 If I find a really cool folktale or legend or myth, I want to talk about to see if anyone else gets just as excited…
The Multicolored Diary
Delightful reasons!
I love your dreams and what you remember about them. I know I can improve my recall and do have a dream journal by my bed. Thanks for indirect encouragement to do that more!
Good for you Beth – wishing you all manner of success.
well, you do write mystery stories, about the wondrous mystery of life! That dream about the tulips from Tulepo is wonderful –
Why do I write? Thinking and feeling come into my writing as I try to clarify what it is I’m trying to or wanting to say. My usual modus operandi is in my head but as I write I find the feeling function worming it’s way in …
Thanks Deborah – a writative post indeed 🙂
What a delightful perspective Susan – I hereby claim my role as mystery writer.
I’m definitely curious about and captivated by the reasons people write. I think we express ourselves in all kinds of ways, and yet it seems more difficult for people to articulate why. Except, it seems to me, with regard to writing. People seem quite clear about that. I don’t really understand why that’s the case, and so that’s something I’m curious about as well.
The idea of feeling worming it’s way in for you is fascinating.
Love the page in your journal with the secret under the hands and what a great dream you had! Perfect post for “W.”
Thanks Janet. And here we are in the last days of the challenge – how did that happen?
Excellent reasons for writing. I also write because I enjoy the catharsis of writing, the self-analysis that happens along the way, the search for meaning in the small(and large) events in my life. I also enjoy going to back to re-read my past posts to see/revisit what was going on and what I was thinking/feeling. I would love to write any kind of book!
You’ve got lots of reasons Margaret – that’s great. Which could be driving forces to nudge you into writing your book. If that’s what you want, I hope it happens.
I enjoy and appreciate your (non-linear) stream of consciousness writing style, Deborah. It’s how my mind works too.
Victor Hugo said, “A writer is a world trapped in a person.” I think I mostly write for myself, as a form of therapy and prayer. I write because I have to, because it’s too much to contain. The page becomes my traveling companion, witness, and friend, in the same way books are like friends. Sometimes I write to give others a voice, or so I hope, maybe I’m only deceiving myself. Existentialist psychologist and philosopher, Rollo May, said writers write as a way of “wrestling with the problem”, leading to a “deeper and wider dimension of consciousness”.
Or at least that’s true for some. Writing driven by some other impulse (the need to fit in, be admired, make a profit) looses its joy and its passion, along with authenticity and truth. We’re witnessing this in mainstream journalism right now.
Like you, I’ve kept dream journals going back many years. They include not only my dreams but also a record of some of the many amazing, beyond-this-world experiences I’ve had. Things I wouldn’t have believed possible if I hadn’t experienced them myself, experiences that could fill a book. I write a little poetry too, for myself. I don’t claim to be a great writer, and that’s okay.
What a beautiful explanation of why you write LB!
I love both the Hugo and May quotes you’ve shared. There’s such a sense of expansiveness in Hugo’s wisdom, I can literally feel the words trying to burst forth. And May understands the gift of depth diving. Good dance partners I think.
Your dream/experience journals sound rich and fabulous indeed.
I write for so many reasons, from writing things in lists so that I don’t have to keep them in my head, to writing things in my journal as a way to get my head around them. Mostly I think of myself as a storyteller, and at a certain point I decided that writing – sharing stories – is one of the major tools I have for trying to make the world a better place, so I write because that’s the gift I have to give. It makes me happy, and I hope it helps make other people happier.
Black and White: W is for Wyvern
I for one am most glad you’re sharing your gift Anne. You are indeed a wonderful storyteller.
Aww, thanks! =) Your writing is about so many of the same things, too — trying to bring people happiness, and get them to recognize all the good things that are all around, to give us more power and enthusiasm to try to mitigate the bad things.
Wow! Being writative is a revelation for all of us I suppose.
I love the way you write. I like that aroma treated page from your journal. I like how you have revealed yourself in that single page.
Wow, you have been consistent with your dream journal – that is an achievement. I have only recently started doing that and I am not that regular.
I enjoyed reading your dream – it is beautiful. Even the dream you described in your previous post about umbrella was vivid and lovely. Great fancy with the typewriter 😊😊
The vintage pic of the cute girl is adorable and so is the Tulip picture you have created for your dream journal.
I write because I find it meditative. I write because of the sheer pleasure it offers and it feels good to share my thoughts from time to time.
Thank you for your kind words Kislaya. I love your description of why you write, and especially the truth of it being a sheer pleasure. I can’t think of anything more perfect than that.
I was raised on the old-school typewriters. To me for a long time, using the IBM Selectric was s******g in high cotton, a technologically advanced wonder that I’d never seen before I got into the military.
These days it’s all a word processing, pasturized, purified, and bland. But I do try to recreate that old manual “feel”. I usually write with Scrivener, full screen (nothing on the monitor but the work) with an ivory paper background and “Special Elite” font, which looks admirably like a manual typewriter typeface. They paper and type actually scroll on each new line.
No distractions, no whistles or bells, no nothing except that old ribbon-stamping typeface appearing on the empty page — it ain’t manual typing, but it will do. Especially when I need to go back and edit, replace, or otherwise unscrew some screwed up thing I’ve done.
Technology, after all, isn’t all bad.
Oh wow – the Scrivener experience sounds fabulous, minus all the pains of the real thing. Indeed, technology isn’t all bad at all. Thanks for stopping by.
Very cool. I learned a new word “writative”. It’s in my big dictionary (2,000 plus pages) but not my regular dictionary (a mere 1,200 pages, lol). It was also enjoyable to read of your writing process as like you I tend to be stream-of-consciousness rather than a planner. I loved seeing your journal art. It’s fabulous.
Oh I do love a big dictionary – so many words to swoon over! Thanks for your kind words Mary, and for stopping by.
Okay I confess. I’m writative too only I didn’t know it all this time. 🙂
Seriously though, coming home to oneself is the only home there is and the only home that’s worth caring about, so kudos to you!
LOL – yes, writative is most fitting for you indeed. May we always be perfectly at home in ourselves!
Ahahaha, yes, that’s me! I type and I write longhand; I write online and I write offline; I write poetry and prose; fiction and non-fiction (and then I find that I have to gather all that writing back together again to get anything like a true picture of what I’ve really been thinking).
(Also, red shoes! About a decade ago, I had a pair that I absolutely adored. Properly I suppose couldn’t afford them, but they made my life so much better. I should write about them!)
You are indeed writative Kathleen! And I both love and am fascinated by your process of gathering the various forms of your writing to help you understand your true position. The perspective of so many lenses is powerful.
You must write about your red shoes – I would absolutely love to hear about them. I’m seriously considering forming a secret society of lovers of red shoes – I’ll be sure to send you an invitation if that happens. 🙂