Somewhere along my travels, I heard the following story that captures the essence of what drives a writer.
A writer dies and ends up with St Peter at the pearly gates. He tells the writer, “You have the special chance of deciding on where you want to end up, heaven or hell. Where would you like to go?”
The writer asked to see what he might be in for. So, St. Peter takes him first down to Hell. The writer opens the door and sees a room with row after row of tables and sitting at the tables are people with old typewriters, punching away at the keys. But, each key pad has a short tack sticking up and with every letter, the people at the tables are screaming as their fingers are stabbed.
The writer quickly closed the door to the screams and asks to see Heaven. St. Peter walks him upstairs and he opens the door, and the writer sees a room with row after row of tables and sitting at the tables are people with old typewriters, punching away at the keys. But, each key pad has a short tack sticking up and with every letter, the people at the tables are screaming out as their fingers are stabbed.
The writer looks at St. Peter confused and asks, “But, Heaven and Hell look the same, and neither of them look very pleasant. What’s the difference?”
“You see,” St. Peter explains, “in Heaven every word a writer types gets published.”
A writer has a story inside him and is driven to share it. When it is ready to come out, the words come squirting out of the fingers, no matter the obstacle. And no matter the struggle, it’s such a wonderful feeling when it’s finished and published.
Recent Comments