Saturday, August 8, 2009

Are writers sane?

Here is an interesting blog post from Borders SciFi Babel Clash.

Are writers sane?

by Karen Miller

So here’s my first post to Babel Clash, and my thanks go to Morgan from Borders and Alex from Orbit for throwing me in the deep — I mean, kindly inviting me to join in the fun. Also, while I’m thanking people, I’d like to thank Borders customers who have so generously bought my books!

And to kick off my tenure here at the Clash, I have some thoughts on that perennial question: Are writers sane?

And my answer is: No.

Writing is one of the most insane occupations around. I rank it right up there with acting. And since I’ve done both, I feel confident in that assertion.

So, why is it that writers’ elevators don’t got all the way to the top?

Well, for a start, our job requires us to sit by ourselves for extended periods of time, in isolation, getting up close and personal with people who don’t really exist. It requires us to have deep and meaningful conversations with them. It demands that we get so involved and so attached to these people we made up in the first place that when something awful happens to them we have to get terribly, terribly upset about it. Even though it never actually happened at all. And anyway, we did it to them.


Read the complete article: Are writers sane? by Karen Miller

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