Writing is like...

Anita at A Still and Quiet Madness and Marian have tagged me in a meme! My job was to come up with a metaphor for what writing is like. : D Well, that was easy. 

Writing is like a hiding place. 

Anyone watch Finding Neverland? The young boy, Peter, who inspired Johnny Depp's character, Sir James Matthew Barrie to write Peter Pan didn't actually like Barrie all that much, he also struggled with his mother's illness, and letting his imagination run freely. Barrie, however, used his worlds to show the boy how wonderful a world outside of reality could be without completely separating the young boy from his own true reality. 

I've been accused of hating reality--finding it boring and dull. I must admit, I am one of those people who wish, more than anything in the world, that Middle Earth was real, that there is a wardrobe somewhere in the world that leads to Narnia, that people in the world actually go to a school of wizardry. The cleverness found in The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Princess Bride--all of it captures me. Let's not leave out the characters. I wanted Elves to be real. I remember asking my Dad, "Are Elves real?" he said, "Well, they are real if you want them to be." I think that is a wonderful response. You see, one thing my parents never did was discourage me from believing in my imagination. That's all it is, really. It does no harm (well, daydreaming in class isn't really all that positive, but that's beside the point!), and allows me to withdraw from my anxiety (and believe me, I stress out far too much) into a place where I am...not really in control, but rather, where my fingerprints linger. I know everything about my world. The people within, well, they act just like you and me. They make decisions on their own, and oh do they surprise me sometimes! Tragedies take place and I cry, and despite dire situations, the manage to make me smile, too. 

In all honesty, I do not believe reality is terrible or boring. I have a wonderful, wonderful life. I have been given the world with the gift of writing. I have a Prince Charming, an education worth millions of dollars, wonderful friends, a wonderful blog and even better followers! Best of all--I get to write about worlds and characters I love. Within my power is the ability to transport someone to another place, and to make them yearn, as I did, for my world to be reality. 

Outwardly, writing might seem like a complicated task if we break it down. Let's see...we have editing processes, queries, synopses, publicity, websites, blogs, agents, editors, publishing companies, sales, best seller lists, critics, critique groups....and oh my, isn't it exhausting?! Sometimes, I get so caught up in the fear of these things, the worry of never finding an agent, the fear that I'm just not good enough...I forget one very, very simple thing--I am a writer, and when my thoughts, emotions, energy is pushed into this complicated web, I forget writing is my hiding place. 

If we think of writing, stories, books, anything really, as our hiding place, the barriers of what is good and bad, well, I think they disappear. And for a moment we all, as we should, appreciate the time it takes to write a story, appreciate the imagination used to craft it, and the bravery it takes to share it. 

I hope I inspired someone. : D lol!

Now, I must tag three people! :)

I choose: 

The wonderful K.V. Briar. 

The ever so helpful Kayeleen Hamblin

And another helpful blogger, Jennifer Daiker

Yay!! I hope you guys have as much fun as I did writing this. Now I'm off to nurse and earache and write. :)

Ciao, Ashley


P.S. - I hope to start catching up on everyone's blogs soon. I feel behind, and sad because I have no internet connection at home. :/