Writing While the World Burns: Thoughts from Sabyasachi Roy. ~Christy Mihaly

That Burning World

Lately, it's been hard for me to get any writing done. Among other distractions, I have an aging parent who needs an increasing amount of my time and care. There's endless perpetual misery on my newsfeed. Oh, and book bans, funding cuts, and manuscript rejections. It gets heavy.

I'm writing this on Election Day. When it's posted, we’ll be confronting all manner of crises and distractions competing for our attention -- this week and going forward. So, why write? Or, how can we?

Writing While the World Burns

This title caught my eye: Writing While the World Burns, by Sabyasachi Roy. I finished it in one sitting. Below, I’ll share where I found it, because it’s a resource I recommend. But first, a bit about Roy's words.

In the introduction, he captures how I’ve been feeling:

            Somewhere, rent just went up again. Groceries cost more than last week. A job offer fell through. A visa was denied. A border closed. A headline clicked. A life unraveled.

And you’re sitting here, reading about writing.

            Seems stupid, right?

            Frivolous. Self-indulgent.

Things may seem grim

Exactly. Attention caught. But Roy hasn't written a “how-to” manual about productivity. He knows that a cute writing routine can't fix the noise of the world or the noise in our minds. But “there are ways to write anyway.” Some days maybe you can’t write. And that is okay. Don't let anyone say that to be a writer you must do it a certain way. But look for a little crack in the noise, when you can craft a sentence, or a paragraph or a page. And keep going.

Roy warns us not to wait for a “perfect writing day.” He turns it around to remind us that any day you manage to write is a good writing day. Forget about a magical routine or eight hours of peace. The world is erratic. So write erratically.

Sometimes it helps to write as a group! 
(And don't worry about perfection ...)

Roy says we can, and should, “write through the crisis (global or personal).” Writing in the face of the world’s ills can seem selfish, right? People are fighting for their lives, they're stuck in war zones, loved ones are sick, bills aren’t paid. “And here you are, tweaking a metaphor about crows. It feels absurd. Almost offensive.”

Writing doesn’t cure these ills. But if you’re called to write, your writing makes things better. Write your truth. The alternative is to allow the noise to silence us. So even though you don’t have all the answers, write what you can, when you can. When you write, you say, “I’m still here. I’m still paying attention. I still believe words matter, even now. Especially now.” Writing, Roy says, is “quiet defiance.” A voice in the dark. It matters.

Sometimes it helps to start small.

You can see why I wanted to pass Roy's wisdom along! It sure feels like we could all use this kind of encouragement and joy. Write on, friends.

Authors Publish

I downloaded this ebook from Authors Publish, a free digital magazine and resource for writers, based in Canada. They offer online courses and workshops and many free resources including author talks and lectures and e-books for writers of all stripes. I’ve found their poetry offerings particularly inspiring.

A recent Authors Publish email invited me to "view all of the free books in our library here.” And to share them. Please comment below to ask any questions, and do check out Authors Publish. And keep on writing.

❤ 

Christy