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Charlotte Rains Dixon  

How to Keep Writing When the World is Falling Apart

It's been a tough summer, news-wise.  I'm not going to name everything that's happened, because you're as aware of it as I am–likely over-aware.  I've managed to keep my distance from most news stories.  Not that I'm not empathetic, I am.  But if I got worked up about every horrible news story I saw, I'd be a sniveling mess. Fountain_pencil_writing_238392_l

A couple days ago, though, I realized how much the combined weight of these horror stories had begun to affect me.  I watched this story about members of the Iraqi air force bringing relief supplies to Yazidis, and found myself unable to stop crying as I watched desperate family members throwing their children and elderly onto the helicopter.

I closed the page and sat staring at the computer.  Suddenly, the novel I've been obsessing over didn't seem so important.  The blog post I'd planned on writing didn't resonate much, either.  Because how could I focus on my petty little entertainments when people all over the world are suffering and dying?

That might sound overly dramatic, but I do think its s legitimate question: what is the role of the writer in times of strife?  

I believe one answer to that question is this: it is our job to bear witness.  Sometimes we may not know exactly how to do this, but let me tell you a little story.  In the days after September 11, I walked about in a haze, like everyone in this country.  I couldn't write then, couldn't focus on much of anything. What I did do was pick up my knitting, my favorite craft that I'd been out of touch with forever. Somehow holding yarn and needles was comforting.  The only thing, besides wine, that did the job. 

The knitting was all well and good but my lack of contribution to the world, besides attending a candlelight vigil, rankled me.  My initial training was in journalism, and that part of me still desired to bear witness in some way.  Finally, I picked up my pen and scribbled a few notes about knitting, how it made me feel connected to other women in my lineage, and how it was my response to 911.  A few months later, that essay was published in Interweave Knits, my first national magazine piece.

I had borne witness, and that made me feel like I was doing what I was supposed to do.

But odds are good that neither you nor I are going to be in Iraq to witness the current atrocities agains the Yazidis. Or in Gaza, or the Ukraine, or any number of other places that are full of strife.  So what's a writer to do?

Write.

Write because the world needs your story.

Write because you have something to say.

Write because its the only thing you can do.

Write because you think you can't.

Write.

Write because you are a chronicler.

Write because writing is what you do.

Write because so many others can't write.

Write because you are a writer.

And it's all you can do.

What do you think? How do you keep writing when the world is falling apart?

0 thoughts on “How to Keep Writing When the World is Falling Apart

  1. J.D.

    A great post. It is difficult to walk the line between collapsing under the weight of all the suffering in the world and ignoring everything beyond our own little sphere. Sometimes just a prayer.

  2. D young

    Over dramatic? No. Informative. And humbling to me anyway. I hadn’t thought so much about it. I’m an entertainment news watcher. Ie: I don’t watch CNN or FOX. give me the local news and TODAY show. Some people around here say I don’t watch the real news. Well, I am sorry. And like you, not that I am not empathetic, I just don’t need every detail about something I (sadly) have no control over.

    I’ve been in those clouds. 911 was definitely probably the first one I ever experienced. Another was a recent tornado that devastated over 1000 families in a nearby town where my daughter had been living. She experienced the tragedy firsthand and for a time, I had no contact with her and didn’t know the extent of damage to her apt. That was a cloud if there ever was one.

    These experiences, and the lessons we gain from them is what enables us to write. It’s not a selfish thought. It’s a way to convey the thoughts, actions, and feelings of those surrounding the event. And possibly the insight of those of us who may be on the outside looking in, as with all the unrest overseas.

    I believe bearing witness is one of the noblest things we can do. The only thing that beats that out is prayer.

  3. Charlotte Dixon

    Oh wow I'm so glad your daughter is ok after that! And you out your thoughts on it beautifully. Thank you.

    Sent from my iPhone

  4. Zan Marie

    {{{{hugs}}}} You’re so right, Charlotte! Write because your life depends on it. And so does the truth that we all try to capture.

  5. Charlotte Dixon

    Thanks Zan Marie!

    Sent from my iPhone

  6. Don Williams

    Excellent points Charlotte! Yes, like you and many others, I’ve been effected by the horrors of recent world news, but at least writing is an excellent way to escape the world of reality where you can surround yourself with a much better, and more sane world of your own creation.

    It’s true that keep writing is not easy under the present circumstances, but without writing it’s actually even worse at least on a personal level.

  7. Charlotte Dixon

    Don you bring up another good point-that writing is an escape. It sure is! And thank god for it!

    Sent from my iPhone

  8. Patty

    This blog post is just one of many reasons why I adore you Charlotte.

  9. Charlotte Dixon

    Aw thank you! The feeling is mutual!

    Sent from my iPhone

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