Is Writing Cathartic?

Before you read the rest of the blog, please read the following paragraph. Thank you.

“Chapter 1: Earth at the LA Airport

When the hunger creeps in your mind and signals your stomach that it wants to eat, nothing else matters. My desire to eat mirrors a Monster! Hunger may reflect a meaningless word to some, but to others, it means much more. And by “others,” I mean, me. Hunger pretty much defines my existence. Hunger is synonymous with possession—yes, a form of possession. It seizes me. Another Me takes over. My primitive instinct demands, and I obey.”

Okay, one more step before you go on. What do you think of what you read? Take notes, and then let me know what you thought after you’re done reading the rest. Thank you!

Alright, I wanted to share an experience that I had in 2016 for a writer’s conference. The conference was full of writers, editors, and agents–both interested in fiction and nonfiction proposals.

I had two proposals with me: one was on introversion, which was non-fiction, and the other was a fiction (an urban fantasy to be more exact). Well, I gave the non-fiction editor my fiction story that I call Phat Eart, Not Fat Earth. And yes, the name of my character is Earth. It’s about a woman fighting obesity and a series of psychological issues.

As the non-fiction editor read these first lines, I could see the bewilderment on her face. She’d read a few lines, and then stare at me. At times, she had this look of like, “Are you okay?” Of course unvoiced. Now, fiction does echo truthfulness. As many writers of literature argue: fiction is creatively telling the truth, or it’s lying creatively. Either which way, there’s a stark difference between saying, “this is a fiction piece” and “this is a non-fiction piece.” Non-fiction writing is, I’d say, a deliberate confession to the world as opposed to fiction, where it’s more masked. 

After several minutes of seeing her mark my proposal with red ink, which she did give awesome advice, I finally said, “this is a fiction story.” She paused. creased her forehead, and said, “Oh.” I’m glad I told her because she genuinely looked confused and concerned. I could almost her hear thoughts saying, “You need professional help.” It makes me laugh to think about it.

Again, as fantastical some stories may be, writing creatively isn’t that far from our real world. If it weren’t for the supernaturalness of particular genres, fiction writers could easily say that they invest time in finding truths. Instead of saying, “I’m a writer,” they could say, “I’m a truth finder.” Writers in general, non-fiction or fiction, tap into this subconscious world that can be quite cathartic.

These ideas are what led me to write, Phat Earth, Not Fat Earth. Whether people believe in God or not, supernatural or not, we all have battles to fight. We have inward wars that we cannot understand. Therefore, I write because it helps me makes sense things in my mind.

What say you to all this cathartic writing? How do you feel after writing? Has writing helped you understand things that you didn’t realize before?

©Ana P. Rose & Anaprose 2018.