Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Into The Void

The Curse of Writing

There are those who say they wish they could write.

They are, of course, talking about writing stories, books and the like, but they don't know what it is they are asking for.

Yes, it's great to be able to sit down before a keyboard and bring words to life. The only feeling I, personally, can compare it to is giving birth, because this is exactly what it is.

However, like giving birth, much pain is involved. Like conception, in most cases, intense pleasure is involved. This is the idea phase, or, as Stephen King calls it, the "what if" phase.

At this point the writer plays with an idea or concept, basically saying "what if this happened?", and "what would happen next?" This time can be compared to a child with a new toy. It's different and we want to see what can be done with it.

Next up is the long and involved pregnant period where the idea becomes full blown and writing begins. The writer's mind is bloated with the story, creating characters, moving them about in different situations and trying to get everything to come together.

During this stage, some writers can get terribly irritable, almost as if their hormones are going nuts.

Getting the story down on paper, or disk or hard drive, is similar to a pregnant woman trying to sit down and get up in the latter stages of her pregnancy. This is to say a lot of work is involved in the process.

Then comes the complications of rewrite, because something isn't working the way it's supposed to. The lead character isn't supposed to be killed, or can't physically get from where they are to where they need to be within the framework of the story's timeline.

Now, during this time the story begins to come together, the characters act as they should and everything is working out (more hormonal highs and lows).

Meanwhile, though, the writer, like the pregnant woman, feels alone and alienated from the world. This is because writing is a solitary experience, as is pregnancy. No one on earth can sympathize unless they've been there, right ladies?

And, there's the insanity period where the writer (and pregnant woman) wonder if it's worth the effort involved and how they got themselves into this mess in the first place.

One of the major difference between being pregnant and writing is choice. In most cases a woman can choose whether she will get pregnant or not simply by practicing birth control.

A writer, on the other hand, doesn't get a choice about whether or not to get an idea. Nor do writers get to choose when and where ideas will arrive.

Personally, ideas tend to arrive at my house in the wee hours of the dawn, somewhere between 2 and 4 a.m.

Many hours of sleep have been lost trying to get the idea on paper before it slips away.

But an idea slipping away isn't the biggest problem. Once it arrives, it's like the brother- in-law who won't leave. Until the idea is put down on paper, it runs around inside the head like a trapped rat, biting anything in its way and not letting anyone get any rest.

This can be compared to giving birth. The idea won't go away (much like the baby at the end of the term) until it is issued forth into the world, just like a baby.

Now, the idea doesn't have to be published for everyone in the world to read, but it does have to enter the world in a physical form again like a baby and the process is a painful one.

Please don't ask the obvious question "Why do you do it then?" because the answer is almost unbelievable. It's not a choice.

Few people who write anything other than grocery lists have any say in the matter. Don't believe me, ask another writer.

But, don't think it's all bad. While there are times it feels like a curse, there's no other high in the world like it (again, like giving birth).

Seeing a finished story is much the same as holding your baby the first time. The heart swells with pride, tears may or may not come, and the soul soars into the heavens.

Afterwards, though, the adrenalin rush wears off and exhaustion sets in (right moms?).

So the next time you say you wish you could write, think about what's involved. Then do something that's really a chore try to get an idea.

But trying to get an idea is a whole other bailiwick.