Writing Is Like…

A little over two weeks ago, a meme started appearing. It’s a simple one, that asks the participant to fill in this sentence: Writing is like…

Both Joel Kirkpatrick and Darcia Helle have asked me to answer. And while I originally posted a short answer to Joel over at his GoodReads blog (does anyone read those on a regular basis?), once Darcia came around asking a second time, I figured I’d need to answer it here. For everyone to see.

My answer to Joel was “Writing is like breathing.”

I say that often when asked about my writing and my need to write. It’s always been this way for me; others need to breathe. I need to write.

I remember being in graduate school and going over to my cousin’s house one night for dinner. Being there for dinner wasn’t unusual; I was around often. It was that she turned to me and said, “What are you working on in the book? You’re awfully cranky. Is it a fight scene?”

By Jove, she was right.

I’ve also heard, “You’re cranky. When was the last time you wrote?” Or, “You’re in a good mood. Get a lot of pages written today?” (Yeah, that was my pre-kid, Pre-Facebook/Twitter years when I routinely wrote 8-10 pages a day. I miss those days.)

It’s more than a mood equalizer, though. Writing is what I do. It’s who I am. It’s my drive to get out of bed in the morning and it’s usually the last thing I think about — well, my characters and their story, not the act of writing so much — before I go to bed. My characters live with me. You guys aren’t surprised to hear this. You’re expecting it because my characters live with you, as well (and thank you for allowing them into your lives).

Writing is the essential part of me. It’s what I now offer to people in search of help. “Do you need a writer?” or “You know, you can call on me and my writing skills. I’m here if you need anything.” It used to be I’d say, “What do you need?” Now it’s focused. “Let me write for you.”

“Writers write,” I tell people with a shrug. My local Boy Scout district and The Boy Band’s Troop are full of men who thank me for stepping up and offering to write things like Court of Honor ceremonies and press releases.

It’s who I am and it’s what I do.

You can say the same thing about the need and act of drawing air into one’s lungs. It’s what we do. It’s how we survive, how we cope when things get stressed. We inhale. Hold it. Exhale. We use it to shape our day, our lives, our activities.

Thus, writing is like breathing.

(I’m supposed to tag someone, but if you’re a writer, have at it. Drop me an link and I’ll post it here.)
Look! Robin at My Two Blessings took me up on the offer.