100 Things Challenge (#1): A Chrysalis Is a Solitary Place (or How a Writer Is Born)

[dawn_felagund]

I've decided to take the 100 Things challenge. (Just what I need! Something else to add to my to-do list! Luckily I have forever to finish it, which those of you waiting for me to finish things can all attest is about how long it usually takes.)

Comments

[dawn_felagund]

Yep. >:^)

[keiliss]

Most people do not?

The strangest thing is I don't think I looked properly at that little reality before. No, of course they don't. My husband doesn't. My eldest daughter doesn't - my closest friends don't, I'm pretty sure. The other kids got tired of making up and acting out stories (role play?), but I never did. But - I never gave it conscious thought before.

There's a thoughtful note to end the night on. Thank you :)

[dawn_felagund]

Nor did I until a few years ago. I don't even know how the realization hit me, but I remember asking my mom if she made up stories in her head and being surprised when she said no (especially since, if there was any Nature in my becoming a writer/artist, I'm sure it came from her).

It's just a default part of who I am ... or that's how it seems. And it is almost sad to imagine life without other worlds shimmering beyond our own, visible in the smallest and most mundane of objects and incidents. It's like seeing the world in color and then learning that, for everyone else, it's black-and-white.

[heartofoshun]

I recognize a lot of this stuff. My two younger sisters and I had a rich fantasy life which included shared worlds. We drew enormous complicated story pictures together on sheets of butcher paper. (I cannot frigging believe that my parents saved none of those--neither can my sisters. They were epic!) Mainly, but not entirely, I was the inventor of our worlds. I was also the quietest one of the three of us. (I can hear all of our shared online friends laughing at me as I type this.) I was not the talker I am now. I really was shy outside of my family circle until well into my mid-teens. I was Hermione in school, but one who did not talk outside of the classroom

[dawn_felagund]

I was not the talker I am now. I really was shy outside of my family circle until well into my mid-teens.

That was me too. I was very shy as a kid; I assumed no one was interested in what I had to say, so I didn't say much to those I didn't know very well. The first time I met Bobby's family (I was 14), his mother later commented to mine how quiet I was. My mom howled at that! Anyone who knew me well knew that I wasn't quiet at all. My future inlaws eventually learned this too

[dawn_felagund]

people used to tease me and tell me I talked liked I was writing.

My sister tells me this. Within just a few hours of arriving in England, she sighed and said, "Ah, the Dawn-rambling is back!" We were giggling on Skype this past weekend about my prolonged and very detailed extended metaphors. She said, "There's just so many different ways to say something!" So true! :D

[engarian]

Now this is interesting. I must admit that I never really thought about writing, I've been a reader and writer all of my life, but I've never considered myself a good storyteller. My best friend was/is a writer. She carries a notebook everywhere with her and writes every spare minute that she has

[dawn_felagund]

I've never considered myself a good storyteller.

Nor do I. I suck at plot (and this is in no way an invitation to argue with me otherwise! :) For me, writing arises from the people in the story; the plot will follow. It's the "throw two people into a room together and see what happens" theory, as I like to call it. If I succeed as a writer, I think it's more to do with being able to perceive and communicate something that feels real about the people in the story; after that, I believe the most mundane of plots will capture many readers' attentions.

I didn't have to interact with real people, thus avoiding uncomfortable social situations.It's funny because I started as a biology major in uni and then switched to psychology, in part because I missed the human element. (Besides that I think the main reason I excelled in science had more to do with my verbal skills than having a scientific brain; I was good at memorizing the reams of vocabulary required in biology because I naturally grasped root words, something that I didn't realize

[engarian]

For better or worse, now I can honestly say that I want to be a writer.

I never had a choice. :) I tried to give up writing for about a year-and-a-half. Insomnia was the result of that little experiment!

I feel that way about creativity in general, but it seems that my mind doesn't care what direction I push myself, as long as I am doing something that will allow personal expression. When I can't be creative in some fashion, my fingers literally itch and twitch and my mood gets positively nasty.

If I'm around people too much, I become quite crazy: anxious and slightly manic and wild.I have very few friends but many acquaintances and I stumble often in interactions. I do inspire amazing loyalty in my friends, though, and they stick for long, long years. I have a reputation as a dragon lady, but when people want an answer about why their piece isn't working properly or what colors to use in a project, they will seek me out because I can tell them. I might not do super well with people in general, but I have "skills". LOL. I

[indy1776]

I've been thinking about doing that challenge; I have an idea for it, but not quite sure I want to because it's personal. I love yours! (Beyond that, I can't say. I'm too braindead right now. Sorry. :( )

[indy1776]

Now that I'm no longer braindead…

I, too, think being ostrasized has a part in creativity and imagination. If no one will play with you (my sister and I didn't always get along, and we've both been happy to do our own things), you have to make things up to entertain yourself.

I remain almost pathologically hypersensitive to nonverbal cues people give in social situations. […] Even now, as a relatively functional adult, I have to stop myself from overthinking or overanalyzing people's behavior as it relates to me.

Yep. And full-fledged social anxiety just makes that worse, even online.

Solitude. Always solitude. :D