Sharing A 'Fire and Curiosity'

 “Writing became such a process of discovery that I couldn't wait to get to work in the morning: I wanted to know what I was going to say.” – Sharon O'Brien 

 

“The best (sentences) always take you by surprise. They sneak into your head while you’re walking down the aisles at a supermarket, or flat-out assault you when you’re at your grandmother’s funeral, and you have to scramble to give the thought life before it’s gone forever. Cocktail napkins, palms, text messages sent to yourself.” – Adi Alsaid

 

Writers, of course, come in all ages but despite their age differences often share commonalities in what gets them going.   These two quoted here – who have decades between them in both experience and age – are good examples.

 

O’Brien was a Professor at Dickinson College (in Carlisle, Pa.) with many years of writing and teaching experience.   A leading scholar on the American writer Willa Cather and author of Willa Cather: The Emerging Voice, she intended to be only a writer of scholarly works but also has earned acclaim for her creative writing and essays.  

 

O'Brien said Cather was fond of saying it’s the journey, not the arrival that matters.   “This image of discovery characterizes both my writing career and the form the creative process takes.”

 

Alsaid's debut 2015 novel Let’s Get Lost was a YALSA Teens' Top Ten Nominee.  His second novel, Never Always Sometimes, was nominated as a Kirkus Reviews Best Book.  Born and raised in Mexico City, he currently lives (and writes) in Chicago.  His most recent title is Come On In: 15 stories about Immigration & Finding Home.

Although separated by age, gender, cultural background and the type of writing that they do, these two, nonetheless, share the internal fire and curiosity that eventually leads every aspiring writer to “Writer’s Moments”. . . and terrific quotes about the process as well.  

 

 

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Writersmoment.blogspot.com/