Monday, July 2, 2007

Be good and you will be lonesome


Be good and you will be lonesome
Be lonesome and you will be free
Live a lie and you will live to regret it
That's what living is to me
-Jimmy Buffett

The 4th of July. Independence Day. Choosing our own destiny.

As the years of my life wind on, choosing my own destiny becomes increasingly important to me. It's one of the reasons I write. Hell, it might be the main reason. I know that. I write because I can control the story. I can control the life of my characters in a way that I find difficult in my own. I can choose their destiny. I can give them their independence.

And in so doing, I give myself some independence too. I live a life a little less lonesome; a life with a little less regret. Everyday I write I give myself a new independence day. Everyday I write I live less of a lie. And that's what living is to me.

7 comments:

Nina Wright said...

Nicely stated, Mark. It's refreshing to hear a writer say that writing makes him less lonely. Nonwriters probably think we have the loneliest job in the world.

Unlike you, though, I don't believe I control the lives of my characters. Once fully conceived, they often take the story in directions I didn't foresee. All for the better, usually....

Mark Terry said...

Nice.

Julia Buckley said...

Sing it, brother. And what a great picture of Mark Twain.

Tim Maleeny said...

great post

Sue Ann Jaffarian said...

Great post, Mark. Writing may be solitary, but it is never lonely.

Felicia Donovan said...

Nicely put, Mark. In telling tales, we live less lies by being true to our calling. What other occupation can claim that? No regrets here either.

Anonymous said...

What exactly do you think Twain is saying in this quote??? Can't be just about writing