If we didn’t love it, we wouldn’t do it; we might even run from it. And I’m not talking about my addiction to Scrabble or scratch off lottery tickets or even TIVO.
I mean writing. My calling, my unshakeable gift. Yep, if we didn’t love it, would any one of us do it? The long hours, the angst, the self-doubt…but ah, the occasional soaring highs when breakthrough comes.
As it happens I spent this weekend following the #RWAChange chatter on Twitter—and working toward two separate deadlines. What a perfect backdrop for having watched one of the best writer movies of all time, and one that really captures our love affair with the writing life, WONDER BOYS. My favorite moment is when Katie Holmes character has just read most of Professor Tripp (Michael Douglas)’s 2700 page manuscript. He asks what she thinks; she hesitates then says, “You know how in writing class, you say that writers have to make choices?” He nods. “Well, and I could be wrong, but it sort of seems like you didn’t make any choices.”
Isn’t that our life story as writers? Struggling to make the choices—what to put on the page, what to leave off, what to leave in our twisted brains, what to share. I couldn’t find that clip, which pains me (if anyone else can, please post a link!), so I opted for the trailer which certainly captures the film’s pathos and writing humor. What are your favorite movies, books or television shows that look at the writing life??
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