The Madness of Writing
30th March, Story #90/366
Some say Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results.
That's what I do.
I sit, and I sit and I sit.
My fingers strike, and strike, and strike.
I expect different things to happen.
Orderliness melts into chaos around me, tea perpetually going cold. A bird might be nesting in my hair.
Brows come together in concentration, shoulders draw up. I arch, stretch, roll, get up and walk... yet... they bunch up again anyway. I'm a ball of... something. My focus inward, yet somehow, at the same time, spidering out into the world. Or worlds.
I've a fever, of sorts. Resembling a sick person with a cosy blanket round my shoulders; my hero cape. Aching, tired. I can live a lifetime before 4pm.
I indulge in this folly again, and again.
I'm mad enough to expect different results, and just crazy enough to see them, and so be content in my madness. I see romances bloom, and relationships stumble. Family trees sprout from under my fingertips. People, with entire backstories known only to me, are born into existence, or bleed out their lives. Secrets revealed, villains seethe, heroes overcome. The same things happen, over and over. On this side of the page and the other. To my addled and delighted mind? These tired, well trod things are bright and new.
I write, and write. Page after page. Oscillating between what must look like near-catatonic staring and frantic scribbling. Gripped in a frenzy, and daft enough to not want to be loosed from its toxic claws. I imagine that this time, surely, it will be different. This piece will resonate. This one will place. This one will sell. This one will tickle an agent's fancy. This one will be accepted by a publisher. This one I can let my family and friends read without cringing so hard I implode.
Another layer of madness, to write things you cannot bear to have read. To yearn to be seen, and still stay invisible.
Every Reader is only a breath away from being a Writer, too. Have you got a pen? Get some ink on your fingers, join us. We're all mad here.
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Word count (excluding note): 366
Submitted on 30th March at 17.38
*Quick Author's Note*
First, and most importantly: thank you for reading!
If you enjoyed this story, the best compliment you can give me is to share it, or read another.
A Year of Stories: I'm writing a story every day this year. This one makes an 90 day streak. I'm also putting them in my Index post.
This was written in response to RM Stockton's March Write Club Prompt.
If you'd like some more prompts to get your inky juices flowing, have a look at my prompts for April! These include my birthday indulgence: a Fucked Up Fairy Tales Unofficial Challenge, which I'll be posting more about soon 😁
Thank you
Thank you again! I do my best to reciprocate all reads. Leaving a comment makes that easier 😁
About the Creator
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Comments (14)
Truly it is a madness. Love it!
I love this, madly.
"what must look like near-catatonic staring and frantic scribbling." ~it is a mad person's craft. This is how I wanted to portray Isabella in my last story; it is excellent wording. Ridiculously wonderful writing as always L.C.!
Now that’s how you talk about writing!
Madness in the letters without fetters from our betters, all of whom own Irish setters. Yeah, I'm definitely mad here, too.
I'm with you, Caroline, and Dharr (and others). We are all mad here! And I, too, fail to realize that characters are imaginary. Just, please, don't tell them that. Then I'd have to explain how they came to be part of my family, and I'm just not ready for that conversation just yet. I thought I'd have more time as they mature... ;)
Oh we're all definitely mad here hahahahaha. Loved this!
You write amazing stuff that we’re all lucky to read. Totally get the madness thing though. Sometimes I forget that my characters are not real people. It’s kinda cool (weird?!) having imaginary friends as an adult! Great piece L.C.
LOVED this! So very accurate and so well-written!
Viva la crazy.
We are all a little crazy 😂.
We ARE all mad here, LC! And I’m thrilled to be one among the madmen :) Personally I can see growth and change in your work :) the steady progress of style and form. Even if it feels like you’re doing the same thing over and over, reread older work :) you’ll see the changes we’ve seen and as you progress through your writing challenge, we’ve all seen the wonders unfold 😇
Well written, but following your work, I think you have been developing! You may have some of the same patterns, but that doesn't mean everything is exactly the same.
Incredible and so relatable! Well done, L.C.! The frenzied flow of weaving a story must look mad to an onlooker! And it does feel a bit insane at times! The agent part hit home too as I hesitantly prepare to reenter the querying fray…