Absolutely love this post. I think focusing on slowing down and doing nothing to support the driving need behind the work is so important. And I love the way you emphasize need -- the deep desire to write that brings one back to the page again and again. I think personally I spent a lot of the past years feeling nervous about "need" -- probably, to be honest, a side effect in living in a capitalist, work-oriented culture that gives a big side eye to somebody doing something because they "need" to without mention of value or skill or why they might "deserve" to do that thing. But I have found it there. Your notion of coming back to the page because something calls you, and being honest about that, strongly resonates with me now, thank you for sharing it :)
I'm glad it resonates! All these concepts are in productive tension, I think: on the one hand there's the question of what *we* need from the work, and on the other hand the question of how the reader can access the work. One trick with literature (as with games, or any other form of expression / communication) is that whatever sings in our weirdo hearts is likely to sing for others too—it's just a question of finding the right audience.
Absolutely love this post. I think focusing on slowing down and doing nothing to support the driving need behind the work is so important. And I love the way you emphasize need -- the deep desire to write that brings one back to the page again and again. I think personally I spent a lot of the past years feeling nervous about "need" -- probably, to be honest, a side effect in living in a capitalist, work-oriented culture that gives a big side eye to somebody doing something because they "need" to without mention of value or skill or why they might "deserve" to do that thing. But I have found it there. Your notion of coming back to the page because something calls you, and being honest about that, strongly resonates with me now, thank you for sharing it :)
I'm glad it resonates! All these concepts are in productive tension, I think: on the one hand there's the question of what *we* need from the work, and on the other hand the question of how the reader can access the work. One trick with literature (as with games, or any other form of expression / communication) is that whatever sings in our weirdo hearts is likely to sing for others too—it's just a question of finding the right audience.