Member-only story
Living vs. writing
Which is more important?
Eight months ago, a reader posted a comment on my About Me Stories autobiography, asking why I’d focused on my life with the men I’ve loved (husband, son, boyfriend) rather than on my identity as a writer.
The comment startled me: it was an insightful question, and I didn’t have an answer. It has poked at my brain like gravel in a shoe ever since.
After all: wouldn’t writing be the defining element of a writer’s identity?
For a writer, isn’t writing just as important as relationships?
Why isn’t writing more central to my identity?
While writing has been part of my life since kindergarten, these days I write to process negative feelings and experiences. The stories I write for Medium.com are essentially introspective therapy sessions between me and a notebook/screen.
Then I hit “Publish” and share them with everyone.
This is why I rarely write on Medium when everything is smooth sailing. When life is blissful, I draft mystery novels for a fun project.
When there is drama in my life, I feel that itch to examine my emotions and hunt down the exact words or images to express them, to examine the reasons why I’m facing challenges.
