Do you frequently wake up fully dressed, reeking of coffee, with Post-it notes stuck to your face? Are you an information junkie, a detail fiend, or a wisdom addict? If so, you’re probably suffering from being a writer; but don’t feel bad; I have it, too.
It hit me that my affinity for stories might be a little over-the-top when a childhood curiosity about Noah’s Ark resulted in a bathtub full of all manner of creatures that came in twos; or maybe it dawned on me even earlier, when learning to read caused me to mentally drool over all the tales I would eventually tell.
I think I am so taken with the movie Adaptation because it addresses the unwieldy topic of the writer’s longing to know and to tell. This hunger is at work in Charlie Kaufman’s struggle to translate his own writing process, and Susan Orlean’s book (The Orchid Thief), into the language of cinema. This desire is equally present in the gap-toothed John Laroche’s encyclopedic erudition on all things orchid; and, of course, in Susan Orlean’s willingness to follow Laroche to the ends of the earth for a glimpse of the Ghost Orchid. In fact, with its promise to electrify us, catalyze our own inventions, and make us whole, writerly yearning is at the core of this elusive flower.
Susan Sontag
Word junkies are seldom without their trusty accessory, the psychic map of creative journeys yet to be had; for me, this has always been the computer. Since I could reach the dusty keys of my parents’ PC, it was almost as if I believed the machine held the blueprint of my undiscovered opus. I would sometimes just sit and stare at the stubborn contraption, which had not, as of yet, offered up my masterpiece, as though it were purposefully withholding it. I’m pretty sure that I even spoke to it at times, resisting the urge to feed and cuddle it. To me, it was the place where I would one day read beautiful words and find that they were mine.
Article comments
1 - raggedpaulthethird
A call to arms, and to the rabbit hole.
2 - Caroline Hagood
Exactly. Not even Alice could get out of this one. From looking at your poetry, it seems that you know a little something about this.
3 - raggedpaulthethird
You communication is instantly recognised by all Makars. Something in the genes.
4 - Caroline Hagood
Verbal craftspeople, unite!
5 - jam
1. spend a day entwined with sontag on photography immediately
6 - jam
2. i have all of the symptoms of being a writer. is there a pill i can take?
7 - jam
3. your writing and the photograph of susan are equally haunting. thank you.
8 - Caroline Hagood
jam, 1. will do
2. in the end, who really wants to be cured?
3. I always hope to haunt. thank YOU.
9 - Joanne Huspek
LOL... Word Junkie. That's a good one. I am now so named...
10 - Caroline Hagood
And another one bites the dust...
11 - dkchristi
I understand the obsession with the ghost orchid. I followed the Corkscrew swamp ghost for three years from its first summer blooming in 2007 to the present 2009 blooms. I was followed on the boardwalk by a Naples Daily News photographer, fascinated by my daily obsession. The ghost orchid captivated my soul and inspired me to write Ghost Orchid, a novel about one family's loves, lies and redemptioon under the magic of the ghost orchid, high in the cypress canopy. The tale is full of the ghost orchid's mysticism while documenting the unrelentless beauty and serenity of the Everglades. Through the eyes of photographers, a mystery unfolds, one coincidence at a time. Ghost Orchid by D. K. Christi is currently in Mobipocket & Kindle ebooks, the print version soon to be released. [personal contact info deleted]
12 - Caroline Hagood
dk, yes, the ghost orchid is certainly worthy of obsession.