It’s the first Wednesday of March, which means it must be Insecure Writer’s Support Group day! Come bask in the glorious sound of your insecurities being smushed into flat little pancakes like the useless entities they are. Join the group here.
Our lovely co-hosts this month are Ronel Janse Van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, and Liza @ Middle Passages! Give them a click and a comment for their kind work today, if you’d be so kind.
And the question for this month is: If for one day you could be anyone or *thing* in the world, what would it be? Describe, tell why, and any themes, goals, or values they/it inspire in you.
At first I wracked my brains trying to come up with an answer that felt right. The time limit is so short, and the possibilities so infinite. Just one day? ANYONE? Or anything? HOW can I choose?
And then in true S.E. fashion I decided, ‘fuck it’, and took the question in an entirely strange direction with a mildly ridiculous answer.
Because I, honored audience, am a Bookworm. Nay, a BookWyrm. The answer is that I choose to be everyone and everything and the time of one day? 24 hours? Psshhh. I need less than that to accomplish my goal. I am limitless.
You see, every time I pick up a new book and get lost in a new story, I live alongside that person. For a few glorious hours, I am living through anything and everything my little heart could desire and some things I’ve never even thought to dream of. I’ve lived multiple lifetimes in countless worlds, and it only took me a few hundred thousand words.
I want to know how it feels to do all the things, to be all the places, and see all possible worlds. And I can. It’s so easy. I only have to open a book. Yes, it’s vicarious. And yes, none of it is real. But the question left itself open to interpretation and I took it in this direction. All of us writers are also bookworms. All of us know how it feels to immerse in a different world, an entirely different land from the one we’re living in. The fact that it doesn’t actually exist isn’t really a barrier to us. We all know how real it feels when we’re reading it. It’s one of, if not the MAIN, reason we love to read! We are all of us limitless.
14 comments
I think your answer is perfect!
Many thanks!
For one day ? Add locked & soundproof room with my TBR.
Fair deal!
Hi, SE! Your mildly ridiculous answer is awesome! The George R.R. Martin quotes is one of my favorites, and it is true. I have been countless places in time and space through reading. Reading remains one of my greatest pleasure in life. Wishing you a happy and creative March!
Many thanks! A happy and productive spring season to you, as well.
I really like to get lost in a story like you too. Your answer is great. And I love the George R.R. Martin quote.
The man has undeniable talent for delivering piercing one-liners in his dialogue. He is SO GOOD at it. Usually it’s Tyrion saying it too, which just makes it better.
Hi,
Not being allowed to Like, but count me in. Broadband even worse than usual today, Blame the scenery ? 0G, 0 signal, obviously, even local birds don’t /can’t tweet. ( ravens, raptors)
Books are like that magic carpet, but even faster, instant escape route to all those other worlds, in so many genres. .
Impatient now to get back to my WIP, before anybody thinks of something else I should be doing.
Living for a while in a haunted house was inspirational – but what to write next ? . This week , out of the blue, characters suddenly flipped, became part of a totally different story – fascinating when this happens.
Extraordinarily beautiful day – will be hard to stay at my desk much longer.
Esther.
A walk can clear the mind, and leave you ready to flow with those flips. Good walking, and blessed be.
Very good point! We can also live countless lives through the words we write.
That’s even more fun, in some ways, because we are also the gods of the assorted universes we create and we can add literally anything we can think of. It’s so fun.
This is my favourite reply of all the IWSG ones I’ve read. I too am a BookWyrm, and as I wrote in a homework essay in school, many, many years ago: “If books were not invented, I would invent them just to have something to read!”
I think you have accurately stumbled upon the origin of any and all stories and books. Someone thousands of years ago thought just like you, and invented a story just to have something to read!