How Writers Write (Maybe?)

I had a discussion the other day with a friend about how it must be hard to live with someone who writes novels for a living. The more I thought about it, the more I felt sorry for my husband. My friend thought it would be tough living with a writer because she imagined that it would be difficult for that writer to transition from the world that he or she creates in his or her books to the real, "normal" world. I pondered that thought for a moment and realized that I have never lived in the real world. EVER. Logical is not my strong point. Now, I may just be crazy, but I have a hunch that many other writers and creative people have this same problem.

I have words and stories inside of me ALWAYS. I remember even when I was a small child, I would tell myself stories to keep my brain occupied (I get bored very easily). For years, I would tell myself these stories out loud. I'll never forget my older sister warning me that I when I started school, I would have to stop talking to myself because people would think I was weird.

But really, I will always be "weird". Most people don't have characters popping up in their heads having conversations with other characters. But I always have. I know that sounds a bit like schizophrenia, but I never talk back to them, if that counts.

These days, I stick to telling myself stories strictly inside my head or on paper. Hopefully one day, other people will want to read them too. If so, maybe I won't feel quite as weird. And if no one likes the worlds I fathom, that's okay with me. I have to entertain myself somehow.

But my synapses are constantly firing, creating new characters and plots and scenes. And if I let all of these jumble up in my brain, I can't sleep or perform logical, everyday matters. But as soon as I write them down, it's like they leave me forever. Then of course, I immediately (and unintentionally) start thinking of new characters and plots and scenes, creating a circle of inevitable doom.

My point is, the creative process never ends. It starts with a simple idea, and then grows and branches into something bigger. Only you have the power to control those thoughts, so get out your lasso and tame those babies. Because isn't it the coolest thing EVER to know that YOU have the ability to create a person, or a world, or whatever the heck you want, into something that never existed before YOU thought of it? I might be biased, but I sure think so. Living with a writer is probably like living in multiple worlds with multiple people, but isn't that all the fun of loving and living with a writer in the first place? It never gets boring. I promise. Just ask my husband.