The Seeds of My Writing Heart

"I think of the life I was fated to – as a woman and a mother – as my big luck. Although I don’t believe a writer has to personally live an experience to write about it or to emotionally intuit the feelings and thoughts related to that experience, motherhood – the process of giving birth and caring for an infant — enlarges and changes one’s view as a writer and as a citizen of the world. What we write about, what we vote for, what we protest against, what we work towards are all influenced by giving life, not taking it."
~On Being a Woman, A Writer, and A Citizen of the World
Alice Hoffman’s Keynote Speech at the PEN Hemingway Awards at the John F. Kennedy Library, Boston, MA
March 30th, 2008

I may not have begun my writing as early as some, but once I started on this path, I'd argue that I felt just as strongly as those starry eyed elementary kids scribbling away in notebooks dreaming of writing. For me, my writing journey began after I gave birth to my first son.  After he arrived it was as if my life was turned upside down only to grow into a completely new, fuller life. I was blind-sided by how whole my life had finally become. I lived and breathed in a way that I never even imagined was possible before he was even a twinkle in my eye.

For me, to give life is one of the most moving, compassion building experiences.  Not only was the change within me the seed of my writing beginnings, but motherhood still actively effects all my writing. I feel depth and understanding toward others in a way I never had before my son came and I see opportunity and potential in a very warm and real way that I never had before he arrived as well. And, when you think about it, isn't that the very core of writing?  For me, the very best works I've read are about people whom you can feel and hope for  An author creates an argument for their characters and when they are successful they present us with people whose fictional story beats with life, whose actions we bite our nails over, hoping for the best.

My little ones are the same way.  I live and breathe for them. I feel that love and connection with them, the kind where I know I would die for them if that need arose.  My sweet children will always be my priority.  I drop the pen when necessary to come to their needs, be they spiritual, physical, emotional, or whatever.  In fact, this is part of why I took a hiatus this last year, so I could be with them in ways I hadn't been able to for awhile.

Now, having had a chance to be away from writing, I feel it calling me back.  It's interesting, because after all this time away, I almost can feel that very first drive I felt when I began writing in the first place.  The more I think about it, it all comes back to the creation of life.  Though the choice to begin writing was the beginning of a difficult but enjoyable journey, it's because of the depth I've felt from having given birth that I really feel a need to share my stories. I have my little rascals to thank for this frustrating but fun path I've chosen.

I can't figure out why that just seems so fitting.

Anyways, how about you? How do your connections with people in your life effect your choice to be a writer?