One of my favorite movies is “Throw Momma from the Train”. It’s a story of a down on his luck writer named Larry (played by Billy Crystal) who suffers from a persistent case of writer’s block during the whole movie. He’s working on a new novel and is stuck on the first line: The night was wet. The night was hot. The night is moist… He painfully vacillates between possible choices, unable to get past that first line. He moonlights as a writing instructor and ends each session with “A writer writes.”
He explains to Owen (played by Danny DeVito) how the writing drives a writer on. It’s a continuous adventure trying to find the right word to convey exactly what you mean and creating the perfect sentence. It’s the thrill of the creation that drives the writer on to their next perfect statement, and on and on and on.
The night was wet. The night was hot. It all hinges on one little word.
“The night was sultry.” Momma sneers.
Is it any wonder Larry wants to heave the woman off the train?
Writers write. Its something that gets in your blood and impacts every part of your life. When I am in writer’s mode, I stop seeing the world in pictures and start writing it out in my head.
I don’t take showers. I engage in stimulating cleansings where deliciously hot water cascades down my back.
I don’t watch movies. I explore plot lines (the dinosaur lunged at the hapless lawyer, taking him up in his teeth and shaking him as a dog worries a chew toy).
I don’t make dinner. I prepare tantalizing flavors to present to my family for our evening nourishment.
And I’m not just writing a book. I am transferring mental images and ideas into script with the hopes of my writings one day transforming me into a self-supported author.
Can I get a witness?