My friend STM feels driven to write and publish a novel. I don't. I like the idea of publishing something (possibly an essay or historical work, since I have absolutely no talent for writing fiction), but I just don't feel a burning need to see my words printed and bound.
Nevertheless, I do feel utterly driven to write. That may surprise you, since I recently went over a month without posting anything here (sorry about that). Actually, most of my writing is done in my journal. This year alone, I've written 129 pages filled with 82,535 words. It took me months to compose a mere ten pages of my master's thesis, yet I often find myself writing a page a day in my journal about our adventures, my musings, or just the mundane joys and frustrations of marriage and parenthood.
Why do I regularly stay up past midnight writing (and even proofreading and revising) things that no one else may ever read in my lifetime--or after it, for that matter? It's crazy. I need sleep. Yet, when something's on my mind, recording or sorting through it seems so much more important than the sleep I'm missing out on. My journals and I have been burning midnight oil by the gallon since high school, and we'll probably keep doing it for the rest of my life. Maybe someday I'll understand why.
2 comments:
That's great! Our stake was challenged to write our personal histories this year. It's been a really interesting endeavor.
Being driven to write in your journal spares you from the embarrassment of needing to write about the birth of your first child before you've finished your lengthy detailing of your wedding. I am reminded again of reasons why I admire you so much.
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