Writers Can Escape Into Fiction, Too
Photo by Dulcey Lima on Unsplash
Many years ago, when I was going through a painful divorce, books became my lifeline. Especially on the weekends when my little boy was visiting his dad, I’d bring home a pile of books from the library and lose myself in a novel (or two) to stave off my sadness and my loneliness. It was such a relief to escape into someone else’s fictional life.
Now that I’m a writer, I’ve discovered that working on my fiction can be a wonderful escape as well. Take yesterday, for example. Someone I felt close to unexpectedly said something unkind and deeply hurtful to me in a phone call. When the call ended, I felt alternately sad and angry. What was this person’s deal anyway? I tried reminding myself about that old adage that how people treat us usually says more about them than anything we’ve done, but it didn’t help much.
Honestly? About the last thing I felt like doing was working on my new novel. Sitting there stewing, however, was getting me nowhere. At last, I dragged myself to my desk and pulled up my novel on my computer. And guess what? After a slow start, I gradually got drawn into my story and the lives of my characters. Pretty soon, my sadness and anger dissipated into the ether. I was off into another world, dealing with my characters’ problems. At least temporarily, I had escaped my own!
It felt good. And despite being certain I wouldn’t be able to write a thing, I actually got some good work done. I’ve decided I must be a remedial learner, because I keep learning the same lesson over and over. Whether I feel like doing it beforehand or not, writing, just like reading, helps me deal with the ups and downs of everyday life in all its messiness.
And that’s no small thing.