“I write to discover what I know.” Flannery O’Connor
When I read Flannery O’Connor’s quote, “I write to discover what I know,” I felt affirmed and free. There is someone else, someone I revere, who feels the same way I do. No doubt other writers have the same experience. However, when Flannery O’Connor says it, it feels sacred. In her writing, she reveals stunning and sometimes shocking insights into the minds and motivations of her characters, x-ray observations of human nature.
My experience of writing to discover what I know is different. It’s not intentional. The words that flow from my fingers to the page deliver insights or solutions to conundrums, things I couldn’t figure out with my mind alone. It always feels surreal and like a revelation because I’m not expecting answers. I didn’t ask for them and yet they come. It’s as if your guardian angel is weighing in over a cup of tea. And she reminds you that you’re free to tell your story because you’ll be whole when you do. Spiritually complete.
I’ve learned a fundamental lesson writing this reflection. My son Matt has told me many times that I should write an autobiography. The characters in my family are tragic and odd, but they don’t seem worthy of a book. So many authors have shared stories of their tortured childhoods. Who wants to read more of the same? And finding a publisher would be like rounding the base camp of Mount Everest.
Flannery O’Connor reminds me that we write to discover what we know. When it comes to my family, there is so much I want to understand. If my fingers, to the keys, to the paper moves me in that direction, writing our story is all that matters. I can share it with my immediate family or put it on the shelf. All that matters is telling the story as it’s revealed to me in the writing.
Stories With Heart And Soul
Writing And Revelations
Maureen Goldman“I write to discover what I know.”
Flannery O’Connor
When I read Flannery O’Connor’s quote, “I write to discover what I know,” I felt affirmed and free. There is someone else, someone I revere, who feels the same way I do. No doubt other writers have the same experience. However, when Flannery O’Connor says it, it feels sacred. In her writing, she reveals stunning and sometimes shocking insights into the minds and motivations of her characters, x-ray observations of human nature.
My experience of writing to discover what I know is different. It’s not intentional. The words that flow from my fingers to the page deliver insights or solutions to conundrums, things I couldn’t figure out with my mind alone. It always feels surreal and like a revelation because I’m not expecting answers. I didn’t ask for them and yet they come. It’s as if your guardian angel is weighing in over a cup of tea. And she reminds you that you’re free to tell your story because you’ll be whole when you do. Spiritually complete.
I’ve learned a fundamental lesson writing this reflection. My son Matt has told me many times that I should write an autobiography. The characters in my family are tragic and odd, but they don’t seem worthy of a book. So many authors have shared stories of their tortured childhoods. Who wants to read more of the same? And finding a publisher would be like rounding the base camp of Mount Everest.
Flannery O’Connor reminds me that we write to discover what we know. When it comes to my family, there is so much I want to understand. If my fingers, to the keys, to the paper moves me in that direction, writing our story is all that matters. I can share it with my immediate family or put it on the shelf. All that matters is telling the story as it’s revealed to me in the writing.
Share this: