I just finished watching the movie "Starting Out in the Evening," a thought-provoking film about a master's student striving to write a thesis about an aging writer whose books are out of print.
The movie resonated for the writer in me, recognizing so many facets of the writer's experience in the story line: how devotion to the craft can create distance and alienation from those you love; how the challenge to continue to write well never fades, no matter what you've done in the past; how the source of the words can baffle others...sometimes even the writer as well.
For some, the keyboard is a canvas. For others, a blank page a word painting waiting to take shape.
The keyboard can be your mistress, your taskmaster, your paintbrush --- sometimes all in the same day.
For me, the keyboard is a conduit between my mind and spirit and the computer screen. Once upon a time, the recipient was a sheet of typing paper, though I found most typewriter carriages couldn't keep up with me when the words were flowing.
Regardless of the technology, however, there's something timeless about the writing craft. Indeed, I know I'm in a rich writing rhythm when time seems to stand still. It feels like you've been writing for 10 minutes, and you look up and the sun has set, even though you could have sworn you just had breakfast.
It'll be interesting to see what becomes of novels in this new era of technology. People are reading more now than ever, though it is happening in a dizzying array of formats. But humans have used storytelling to convey wisdom, history, culture and knowledge throughout their existence, and that's not going to end.
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