Be good and you will be lonesome
Be lonesome and you will be free
Live a lie and you will live to regret it
That's what living is to me
-Jimmy Buffett
The 4th of July. Independence Day. Choosing our own destiny.
As the years of my life wind on, choosing my own destiny becomes increasingly important to me. It's one of the reasons I write. Hell, it might be the main reason. I know that. I write because I can control the story. I can control the life of my characters in a way that I find difficult in my own. I can choose their destiny. I can give them their independence.
And in so doing, I give myself some independence too. I live a life a little less lonesome; a life with a little less regret. Everyday I write I give myself a new independence day. Everyday I write I live less of a lie. And that's what living is to me.
8 comments:
Nicely stated, Mark. It's refreshing to hear a writer say that writing makes him less lonely. Nonwriters probably think we have the loneliest job in the world.
Unlike you, though, I don't believe I control the lives of my characters. Once fully conceived, they often take the story in directions I didn't foresee. All for the better, usually....
Nice.
Sing it, brother. And what a great picture of Mark Twain.
great post
Great post, Mark. Writing may be solitary, but it is never lonely.
Nicely put, Mark. In telling tales, we live less lies by being true to our calling. What other occupation can claim that? No regrets here either.
What exactly do you think Twain is saying in this quote??? Can't be just about writing
While I can't speak for Twain, I think that if you look at his life and his writings you can gain a grasp of what he meant. Twain from all that I've studied tried to be an honorable man and live with honor. Those of us like that who try our best to be honorable in everything we do often find that by being honorable we often are forced to alienate those who claim to be "friends" because they disagree with us doing the honorable thing. I think that for me what Twain meant by this was that if you always try to do that which is good then you find that you are a person who although you can live with yourself you may be alone. I know that's what living this has been for me.
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