I came across an article in The
Guardian about the resurgence of independent book stores in the U.S.. While
the piece was interesting and upbeat, a quote from bestselling author Judy
Blume made my mouth drop open. Blume said that she wakes up every morning,
looks at the sky, and thanks whoever’s up therefore for not having to write
today. You can read the quote in the piece here.
As you probably know, Blume is a highly successful author with millions of books sold. Why is she so happy that she doesn’t have to write anymore? No
explanations are offered, which I suppose isn’t surprising, given that the
piece is about her new venture as owner and operator of a nonprofit indie
bookstore in Key West, Florida.
I have some theories, though. First, let’s face it. Writing is hard work;
draining, in fact. Also, when you have the body of work that Blume has, how
much more do you have, or want, to say? Clearly, she has enough money to live
on from her royalties. Perhaps boredom set in? Perhaps, she simply craved new
challenges? She does state in the piece that she’s excited to be learning
something new at age 78. Kudos to her for that!
I think she also tapped into a feeling that many writers
share. There comes a time when we
wonder about packing it in. I know I have. Maybe that’s why her comment made me
stop and think. Will I stop? If so, when? Do I have a specific time set in
mind? The answer is not right now.
The truth is that I still love writing. The other truth is that I haven’t
achieved most of my goals yet. But when that happens, what then? Something to
ponder, isn’t it? Do you ever think about not writing? Tell me…and please tell
me why. I’d really like to know.
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