Writing in Community

   Writing. It's nasty. It's annoying. It's hard.

   Why did I want to be a writer?

    Because I like telling stories. I like the excitement which enters someone's mind when they read a good story. I like the enjoyment that flickers across their face as they continuously turn the pages.

   I like storytelling, but I don't like writing.

   Writing's hard. It's hard to get the right words down on paper. It's hard to make something worth reading. It's hard when everything I write looks terrible. It's hard when I hate everything I write.

   Writing is hard.

   Writing alone is harder.

   To some extent, writing must be done alone. Writing is not something done with others. That's why it's writing and not speech. Yet, writing must not be done entirely alone. The best stories exist in community. A story can exist alone. But if it never is told, then it has no point. The point of a story is for the creator to it give away. To keep it to oneself is to negate the point of a story.

   So I need others when I write.

   But it's hard! I don't like to talk to people about my writing. It's awkward. It's messy.

   It's life.

   "No one will understand! No one else understands stories!"

   "Don't they? Everyone tells stories. Some are simply better than others. Everyone listens to stories. Some are simply better than others."

   "But it has to be good before others hear it! I don't want people to hear a crappy story."

   "To make a good story, one must tell bad ones. To make a bad story good, one needs others."

   "But it's hard!"

   "It is hard alone. With others, you have help to bear the weight. You have a shoulder to cry on. You have a hand to steady the pen. And you have a kick in the pants when you're too lazy to work."

   "Will you help me write?"

   "That's what I'm here for."