Wednesday, October 27, 2010

"Are you still writing?"

That was the question a former classmate/friend from graduate school asked me last night when I went to say hi to him after his reading.  It wasn't the only question, but the question I remember most (followed closely by "Why did you move to Hamilton?").  It might seem like an innocent enough question, but it was one that made me chafe and start a small spiral of doubt.

That's why whenever I see an old writing friend, I always ask "How's your writing?"  And here's why.  Being a writer is kind of like being a pet owner.  One should always assume your pet is alive, and so it is with writing, whether that "pet" is going on long runs with you, chasing a car, or sleeping all day.  To continue that analogy, most pet owners get a new pet when old faithful ceases to be.  It's much like writing - if you're not writing the same stuff you were before, you're probably writing something else now.

2 comments:

  1. That was very well put. Thank you for helping me frame my own answer to similar questions.

    To follow the analogy, too. Some of my friends are more interested in my pets than me. Or so it seems sometimes.

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