Re: The writer's disease (was: A step up, a step down)

[Jo Francis Byrd <jbyrd -at- byrdwrites -dot- com>]

Why am I a writer.....

Because words are my weapon, my shield. If I have a problem, I sit it 
down in a chair before me and talk it to death (or write it to death). I 
use words to pull trauma out of my psyche. I use them as weapons in a 
battle against bad service (I write GREAT complaint letters! I also 
write great "you done good" letters, too).

My youngest is a born writer. I knew that when Bonfire collapsed at 
Texas A&M a couple of years ago (to those not familiar with Texas A&M 
and  Aggies, up until two years ago, students built a HUGE bonfire out 
of logs. It was not "the bonfire," it was "Bonfire." No articles. Two 
years ago, it collapsed, killing 12 students and seriously injuring 
several others. It was a horrible event). That night, she sat down and 
sent out an e-mail to family and friends describing the emotions on 
campus. Reading it, I knew she was born to write, it was not in her 
blood, it was in her soul. She used words to cope with the horror, to 
pull it out of her, to begin the process of healing. As a writer myself, 
I understood. I have done the same thing.

Jo Byrd

Kirby_Sarah wrote: