What’s In the West Wing?
In his blog creativityist.com, John Chandler reminded me of a few quotes from Anne Lamott’s fabulous book Bird by Bird:
If something inside you is real, we will probably find it interesting, and it will probably be universal. So you must risk placing real emotion at the center of your work. Write straight into the emotional center of things. Write toward vulnerability. Don’t worry about appearing sentimental. Worry about being unavailable; worry about being absent or fraudulent. Risk being unliked. Tell the truth as you understand it. If you’re a writer you have a moral obligation to do this. And it is a revolutionary act–truth is always subversive.
We write to expose the unexposed. If there is one door in the castle you have been told not to go through, you must. Otherwise, you’ll just be rearranging furniture in rooms you’ve already been in. Most human beings are dedicated to keeping that one door shut. But the writer’s job is to see what’s behind it, to see the bleak unspeakable stuff, and to turn the unspeakable into words–not just into any words but if we can, into rhythm and blues.
It reminded me of the scene in Beauty and the Beast when the Beast orders Belle not to enter the West Wing.
In a couple of recent blog posts and my latest essay, I’ve really struggled with revealing my true feelings, wondering if they would be too offensive or how they would effect my relationships with people.
I think I need to start venturing into the West Wing.
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