How do you know what to write?

Questioner: How do you know what to write?

Wordswimmer: You don't know before you begin.

Q: Don't you plan ahead?

W: Sometimes. But you still don't know how your plan will turn out once you begin.

Q: There's no formula?

W: No. Just the blank page and your pen.

Q: And you just begin?

W: That's right. Let your hand start moving. See where it takes you.

Q: Like this?

W: Like this. 

Q: You didn't know we'd be having this conversation, did you?

W: I never imagined it, no, not until the pen started moving.

Q: And you found my question waiting for you?

W: Right. The question appeared.

Q: And then what?

W: I responded, and it turned into an interview, of sorts.

Q: You didn't even know I existed?

W: You don't. Except in my imagination.

Q: This is writing?

W: Yes, this is writing.

Q: You never know what will come?

W: No, never. It's what makes writing so challenging... I almost wrote treacherous.

Q: Treacherous? How?

W: Not knowing what you'll write. So you never know what you'll find on the page. And you need to lower your guard. To be open, vulnerable. Treacherous in the sense that what you write might surprise and even hurt you.

Q: But you write anyway?

W: Yes, of course.

Q: Why?

W: To find out what I'm thinking, what I'm feeling. To take pleasure in the process of discovery, to dive into a world I didn't know existed before I started writing.

Q: A world inside you?

W: Yes, but also a way of looking at the world inside and out.

Q: You just write what you see?

W: What I see and feel and think and imagine. There are so many ways to make connections. Memories. Experiences. And then to try and figure out how to make sense of these connections.

Q: That's writing?

W: Yes, that's writing.

Q: No wonder why you love it and write every day.

W: You never know what you'll find when you begin. 

Q: It's all part of the mystery?

W: Yes, that's it. You feel connected to the mystery of life in a different way when you're writing, when you're holding a pen or pencil in your hand, or when you're typing on the keyboard.

Q: Connected to what exactly?

W: It's hard to describe. Connected to life, I guess, on a deeper level. To who you are. To a spirit, if you want to call it that, inside you but also guiding you, if that makes sense.

Q: Maybe, I'm not sure. Is it like praying?

W: Well, kind of. 

Q: I guess I'll just have to pick up a pen and start writing. 

W: Yes, see what happens. 

Q: Maybe I will. 

W: Good luck!

Q: You, too!