FIVE WORDS – SOLACE

As a writer, my basic tools are Imagination and Words. In this series of blog posts, I want to discuss five meaningful words as they relate to writing and my life as a writer.

There aren’t a lot of people who have not experienced troubling times, depression, down moments. It might have been due to the end of a relationship, the death of a loved one, or something as simple as a bad day at work.

Some people turn to booze or drugs, religion or spirituality, or exercise. There are countless ways that we pull ourselves up and out of the difficulties we encounter.

For me, certainly at this point in my life, it is writing. Sitting in my office, no music, no other distractions, this laptop acting like a life preserver in the middle of the ocean, I lose myself in the world of writing. There were countless times when, as a young man, I would “emerge” from a session as though coming out of hypnosis. I suddenly realized I was very hungry or thirsty because I didn’t stop for nourishment. Time had passed, often an entire afternoon.

These days, on the weekend for example, my wife might ask when we plan to have our Happy hour before dinner. (I do the cooking.) I look at the clock and speculate another thirty or forty-five minutes. A sudden realization that I’ve gone past my promised time puts me in a frenzy to wrap up and begin the evening.

I get lost in other worlds, the ones of my own creation. And while taking a brief respite from Reality, all is well. I have commiserated with the main character from the book. I’ve walked around his neighborhood. I marveled at his adventures.

I always return to the Here and Now. But for a spell, I have found a special kind of peace!