Write Out of Love or Anger

I have woven a parachute out
of everything broken.
—William Stafford

Writing is a long road. You need to be fueled along the way. Write about the anchovies your uncle made you eat off the pizza or the nape of the boy’s neck who sat in front of you in Spanish class or the green jealousy you felt when he put his arm around another girl.

All good writing is a blend of memory and imagination. Writing is so grueling, you have to either hate or love what you are writing about, and sometimes both at the same time. It is this passion, whether it takes the form of intense joy or sickening anguish, that often sustains writers. Writing about the simplest subjects can propel a person back and through the pain. Torture victims are often asked to write about a memory of food, and they find their way home through writing about deprivation and then the joy of warm bread and jam. You don’t have to be Proust or taste a madeleine to write well. Cinnamon toast or Cream of Wheat will do just fine.

From The Butterfly Hours: Transforming Memories into Memoir by Patty Dann

Continue Reading »