I love writers. I love being around them. I love reading their stories, hearing their words, seeing their visions.

Now, don't get me wrong, here. Writers, generally and specifically, are pains in the ass. They whine, they bitch, they complain. They're complex, troubled, deep, and neurotic.

They're also inspirational.

Writing is an art, a quest, and a compulsion. Many of us write because we have to, not because we want to. We have words, thoughts, ideas and entire universes we have to share. Even if our only performance consists of reading our work back to ourselves, it's good enough. Nah, not a chance. We want the world to hear, to approve, to applaud, to laugh, to cry, to love us, but much more, to love our writing.

Writing is a bitch, a joy, a challenge, a reward, a job, and the incomplete expression of something tearing up our insides.

That's why I love writers and I love being around writers. Oh yeah, gather a bunch of writers together and you'll get the inevitable crying about motivation, completion, completeness. They'll sigh about publishers, exclaim about editors, and decry deadlines.

You'll get unwavering beliefs backed up by shaky convictions. You'll see powerful personas wrapped around ultimate vulnerability. You won't get a word in edgewise, and it'll be a pleasure.

I love being around writers. No matter their background, no matter their stories, they have stories. There's something about the very act of comitting pencil to paper, bits to silicon that ties us together, makes it all seem worthwhile.

I'm not crazy. I'm a writer. And when I'm around writers, I'm home.

Copyright (c) 2000 by David Gewirtz. All rights reserved worldwide.