The Daily Writing Journey: The Search for Truth

My first week into writing every day has resulted in daily words, yes. But underneath those words emerges an even more intriguing quandary: the search for truth.

As writers, we specialize in verisimilitude. Verisimilitude is one of my favorite 2 dollar words and it sounds like what it means. It is the sense of truth in any fictional situation. The "truthy-ness" of it all. Could a reader or viewer reasonably believe this situation would occur? Or does this string of words into a sentence create an image that readers could comprehend and from that, extrapolate a deeper meaning?

When I watch other professionals at work, it is easy to see what good or service they provide. Medical workers deal in health. They ensure that people feel better, become stronger, healthier. Lawyers advocate for the what is right within the parameters of the law. Teachers instruct students in the learning process. Whether your good or service is easily quantifiable or not, there is something to be said for most professions in that what they do is clear.

Yet writers...our journey is a different one. A singular one. It is a search for truth. It is an excavation for the truth in fiction. The existence in words. Love in a breath. Betrayal in a fragment. How do we get there? How do we achieve that and consistently?

Well--I guess we should start with writing every day, huh? When I was starting out as a writer many, many, many moons ago, I used to write every day until my fingers begged to come into contact with letters on the keyboard. Then, as I matured in my practice, accomplished more, I took breaks between projects. I read voraciously when I wasn't writing and that was nice. I filled the well of creativity, which is important.

Now, however, I have reached a point where I must return to the fundamentals and find the truth behind these words, these letters, these specks of punctuation. If I don't, then what good or service am I providing?

So, the journey continues and that is a beautiful thing, knowing that success is simply found in words. Happy writing. :)