Should you avoid writers or befriend them?

…I avoided writers very carefully because they can perpetuate trouble as no one else can…

F. Scott Fitzgerald in The Crack-up

Writers are a funny lot. Whether extroverted or introverted we’ve all got an opinion we believe is worth sharing. How we go about sharing that is similar only in the fact that we put words to page. Some writers write to be read while others write for their own benefit.

I discovered a few days ago that my Grandmother once wrote mysteries. During a visit she asked how my writing was going. I pitched her an idea where she was the heroine, a woman living in memory care solving mysteries. She started to glow, leaned in and shared her secret.

“I once wrote lots of mysteries.”

“Where are they?” For a brief moment, I held on tight to hope that they were hidden away in a dresser.

“I wrote them for me and threw them out.”

What I wouldn’t give to have a pile of her stories. She’s drifting away slowly in a memory care assisted living facility in the Tampa Bay area. She’s a big part of why I moved here, to catch the last of the stories she still held. I want to sit in her presence and make up for the time military life kept me from family.

We all have stories to tell

We all have stories to tell. Sharing those stories is a vital process of healing from past trauma and moving into the future with purpose and clarity. That’s a large part of why I wrote my first book Finding Joy: The Year Apart That Made Me A Better Spouse. While the book speaks to the person I once was, I wouldn’t be the person I am today without having written it.

Processing our place in the big picture of life and chiseling out our details inspires others, brings clarity to our own thoughts, and helps us move forward.

The place I find myself, and my sanity, is surrounded by other writers. It's in community over words, editing, storytelling, and hot coffee that I discover my voice.