Alternative Realities

Found this on Betsy Lerner’s blog:

I want to understand how it is that being by myself with my keyboard is when I feel least alone. Not connected to others, per se. I’ve never understood writers who say they write to help other people. I write to hurt them. Just kidding, sort of. I write to feel normal.

I don’t know about feeling normal – what is normal, anyway? But writing does take me to another place and, if a writing session is very intense, it’s sometimes hard to leave it and come back to reality. I think all forms of art do that – my Mom is a visual artist and she experiences the same thing. It’s quite a different space from the “real world”.

When I finish a writing session, it can take time to turn down my writing mode and let everyday things fill my brain again. It's the same thing when I read a great book. I'm there, in that other world. But then, it’s a matter of balance. The real world is pretty great too.