Satisfying those old yearnings...

“I don’t believe one reads to escape reality. A person reads to confirm a reality he knows is there, but which he has not experienced.”
—Lawrence Durrell

This week I read an article from Writer's Digest entitled "6 Simple Ways to Reboot Your Writing Routine" written by Brian A. Klems. Klems wrote this, "...I believe that your writing should be inspired by something much deeper than getting rich or getting famous or getting even with your ex. It should cohere with your own personal vision or belief system."

So I asked my intrinsic writing self, why do you write? This question is borderline cliche, I know. Ask any writer out there if he or she has been forced to consider this quandary. But, I contemplated the notion anyhow--I always do--and discovered some new ideas. Is it to purely to be published? No, it's always been deeper than that. Is it to connect to people through words? Is it to use as a venue to pass along messages? Yes, definitely. Is that all? No. Not even close.

See, everyone's life is in some way, limited. There's not enough time to experience everything. Even if I obtain everything I've ever wanted, there will be other things I'll never do, see, have, feel. When I write, I satisfy these yearnings. If I find myself preoccupied with engrossing memories, I can relive them through writing--fiction or nonfiction. If I'm coveting an existence I'll never live, I can do it vicariously through writing.

I have to be able to have that. Regardless of where I end up with this endeavor of mine, I MUST have the capability to fill voids through this system. Without it I'm doomed. OK, not doomed. Just average. It means that much. It fills in the empty spaces. The thing is, there's nothing I can do about it, really. It's intrinsic.