30 Day Know Thyself Writing Challenge
Day 6: What do you find to be the most rewarding aspect of being a writer?
The work is the reward. For me writing is a struggle to convey myself, to portray thought and emotion and senses in words and structures and rhythms. Expression is creative problem solving, and like any problem to be solved can make nests of our hair and sawdust of our pencils, and otherwise generally be a maddening ordeal. And yet, the greater the frustration, the greater the passion; the greater the challenge, the greater the victory. Finding the right word, image, or the perfect line of dialogue is so satisfying! Finishing a short story or reading a completed poem aloud for the first time? Magic.
Another great thing about writing: (at the risk of sounding like Chandler), can there be anything more magical than creating something from nothing? A writer is an imagineer. A writer spins whole worlds.
Apologies for the short length of entry; I’ve really got to start writing these before ten o’clock at night! I’ve plenty of time before the midnight deadline, but not if I can’t keep my eyelids from fluttering…
ooo I love the phrase about problem solving “making nests of our hair and sawdust of our pencils” – that’s good writing. I love how just one line of text can make my day and what a thrill just a random combination of words can give.
oh and “imagineer” – yum.
ps – I love Chandler.
Thank you, Julianna! I’m glad those images resonated 🙂 I’ve always loved the word “imagineer” but I’m pretty sure Disney holds the official trademark on that one, haha. I also envy Sony’s slogan: make.believe. So good!