“I Write To Discover What I Know.”
“I Write To Discover What I Know.” — Flannery O’Connor.
While writing my first novel, over the course of two years, this quote from the brilliant Flannery O’Connor played in my mind frequently. One may ask what this means exactly, just what is it you come to “know” while writing? For me it wasn’t some spiritual journey where I had a self awakening about myself and came to terms with dark, hidden recesses stuffed gently into my brain that writing made me pull out for self examination. No. It also was not a realization or self awareness as to what I know exactly about the world of literature and creating a piece of literature. For me, it was learning my capabilities about this fictional life that was flowing through me, torturing me when I wasn’t writing and torturing me even greater when I was writing and bringing all the characters to life. I learned that there is so much left to learn.
Putting words down and bringing a family to life in print was probably the hardest thing I have ever attempted to do. I lost myself in the words for a while and felt like I was falling deep into a cave, feared to be lost forever. After four drafts I came to understand this quote and finally realized, by creating these people, these fictional lives and actually giving life to them that in reality, I don’t know a great deal, just yet. But that is the secret and amazing thing about life, it is never too late to learn and it is never too late to stop trying to learn.
I have studied O'Connor at great lengths and I do idolize her work, much like the character "Travis Hughes" from my novel, "Curse Of The Whitley Farm" came to idolize her. Ms. O'Connor made it a practice that she wrote at least two hours every single day. By creating this blog and with the great hope of bringing this blog to life on a daily basis, I too plan to write at least two hours each day. And I hope to learn more and to really discover what I know through writing.
While writing my first novel, over the course of two years, this quote from the brilliant Flannery O’Connor played in my mind frequently. One may ask what this means exactly, just what is it you come to “know” while writing? For me it wasn’t some spiritual journey where I had a self awakening about myself and came to terms with dark, hidden recesses stuffed gently into my brain that writing made me pull out for self examination. No. It also was not a realization or self awareness as to what I know exactly about the world of literature and creating a piece of literature. For me, it was learning my capabilities about this fictional life that was flowing through me, torturing me when I wasn’t writing and torturing me even greater when I was writing and bringing all the characters to life. I learned that there is so much left to learn.
Putting words down and bringing a family to life in print was probably the hardest thing I have ever attempted to do. I lost myself in the words for a while and felt like I was falling deep into a cave, feared to be lost forever. After four drafts I came to understand this quote and finally realized, by creating these people, these fictional lives and actually giving life to them that in reality, I don’t know a great deal, just yet. But that is the secret and amazing thing about life, it is never too late to learn and it is never too late to stop trying to learn.
I have studied O'Connor at great lengths and I do idolize her work, much like the character "Travis Hughes" from my novel, "Curse Of The Whitley Farm" came to idolize her. Ms. O'Connor made it a practice that she wrote at least two hours every single day. By creating this blog and with the great hope of bringing this blog to life on a daily basis, I too plan to write at least two hours each day. And I hope to learn more and to really discover what I know through writing.
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