More Midnight

I guess I'm busy with the end of the year since I am behind on my reading. I am still reading The Midnight Disease by Alice W. Flaherty. It isn't a fast read, but it is interesting. For example, I had never thought of writing as perhaps a second language (from the spoken word) but she makes some good arguments for that. She also has me thinking about all the differences between how we speak and how we write. Much of what is said if written on paper really is a grammatical mess. Sigh.

On a side note... This is my last week teaching in Kipnuk; I am feeling nostalgic and find myself missing it even before I leave. Thank you to everyone who made my home here so special. I will miss the church bell ringing in the evening, the light dancing off the bridge, the sway of the grass in the fall and the sound of laughter drifting through snow. Most of all I will miss the wonderful people I have learned so much from.

Midnight Winds Through the Pages

The Midnight Disease: The Drive to Write, Writer's Block, and the Creative Brain by Alice W. Flaherty explains what is known about the neurological mystery of how the brain works when it is being creative.

It fascinates me that we can put a man on the moon yet we can't really understand what is going on between our two ears. That mysterious gray matter nestled in our skull holds all the mysteries of space and we have only just begun to understand how it works.

Strangely enough it seems that most of what is known about how the brain functions is due to people that have a problem with the way it works. The extremes are the first things that can be identified so we begin to understand the madness to get a glimpse of how our "normal" dance of neurons do their thing.

"Memory and writing are intertwined. Writing tries to extend our memories infinitely." (61)

This book is fascinating but it is very clinical too. It reminds me of my psychology classes in college. But if you are really interested in what makes you tick when you are facing that seemingly insurmountable obstacle known as writer's block, it may interest you to learn what may be causing you problems. Plus, turning to another endeavor for a break and returning to your writing often jostles that block free.