Friends, Family, and Creativity

As anyone who has pursued the craft understands, writing, like most arts, is a solitary endeavor. That is not to say that additional aid from editors, beta readers, critique groups, and friends and family are excluded or unappreciated. Without these fine folks assistance, writers’ manuscripts would seldom reflect the polish they deserve. During the creative process, however, for writers it’s a one-on-one effort––writer vs. manuscript. Because of that arrangement, we scribes (a.k.a. keyboard punchers), often tend to hide behind closed doors. We frequently stay up late or wake up early to embrace the silence. And we often seem to ignore those around us in order to isolate our minds from outside influences in order to focus on the work at hand. Yep, we can seem downright rude. I’m certain there are exceptions (there always is), but I’m confident that without hours of solitude the stories, rhymes, and reflections from too many great writers would still be unwritten.

Enter family and friends. Even single writers belong to a family. Most writers also have close friends. Because of our mutual bonds, when either family or a friend expresses a need, the other comes to assist without hesitation. Such has been the case with me recently. I had to choose––family or creativity. I chose family, which is why this week’s blog post is brief. I apologize for my less creative brevity, but not for my choice.

Thanks for stopping by. Next week looks more promising.

A postscript: This weekend is Labor Day is the USA. Thanks to all the hardworking men and women whose efforts continue to reinforce this nation’s economy.

HAPPY LABOR DAY, folks! Enjoy your weekend.