| But what does this heritage mean for someone who lives by words, lots of words; and further, words that must come from a deep emotional core if they are to have any power at all?
I don’t know about anybody else. But for me, it tends to mean that once I’ve put the emotion down in sentences and paragraphs for anyone to see, I’d just as soon not run around acting needy on top of it. I look at the words I’ve written and see that a little too much of myself has been laid bare; and I’m thinking, hey, high time for a little repression.
I’m mostly successful at this. So I don’t look too angst-ridden, as a rule. But all the same, I’m a writer; anxiety and self-doubt are my stock-in-trade. That is where the ferment of ideas and words gains strength, and taps into the inner fears that we all have in common, and makes my characters real.
So if you know writers who look pretty much together, steady and rational and calm— don’t you believe it. And you might want to throw a few encouraging words their way. Because even the most self-sufficient types need a little propping, now and then.
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