Writing As Restoration
By KL Burd | July 29, 2021 |
“One writes out of one thing only—one’s own experience. Everything depends on how relentlessly one forces from this experience the last drop, sweet or bitter, it can possibly give. This is the only real concern of the artist, to recreate out of the disorder of life that order which is art.”
James Baldwin – Notes of a Native Son
Life is full of disorder. There are so many things that are, that ought not to be.
In any environment, we not only see disorder when it’s present but we can feel it, we can sense it, we can taste it. It messes with our holistic equilibrium. Some of us fear disorder, others easily live in it, but many despise it.
The real question is, “What do we do with it?”
To counteract disorder, we look to order. And here we see two opposing forces on the seesaw of life. The gravity of this powerful dichotomy weighs on our very souls every day. Disorder innately feels so out of place that order naturally presents itself as the ultimate solution.
Order, however, can often indicate rigidity. It signifies parameters and boundaries. It implies the handiwork of someone or something with power. It suggests the way things should be — but according to whom? And within this non-enticing rigidity, we see that order can be just as frightening as disorder.
No one wants to escape the chaos of their life only to be put in a box and told what to do and how to live.
But there is another order. One that is not given to you by someone else. One that expands every corner of the box and pushes us from a three-dimensional world into an infinite one.
So, how do we move from disorder to an order that we would welcome? We follow the words of the Native Son, “…recreate out of the disorder of life that order which is art.”
The magic is in the art.
Our working definition:
Art is the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.
The application of human skill and imagination — that’s it! That’s the key! We artists, we writers, we musicians, we creators weave beauty and emotional power from both our human skill and imagination.
To create artistic order out of disorder, one has to first have an imagination — a vision so to speak — a vision of what could be. A vision of order, beauty, and emotional power forged from the seeds of disorder.
An artist must have a vision and embedded in that vision is something that the artist might not even see themselves. One must have hope.
Hope — that important yet often elusive immaterial thing that lies just beyond the grasp of our fingertips. Hope can be an anchor for our souls, yet it’s not a past anchor, or a present anchor, but a future anchor.
Tragedy, trauma, and injustice may anchor us in the past, pulling us back into our own personal hell daily. Pain, reality, and the status quo may anchor us in the present, keeping us stuck in the daily minutiae — unable to break free. But hope… Hope casts an anchor far into the future like a javelin thrower at the Olympic Games. The wielder of this great power can not only see the destination but they can see all of the possible destinations — the possible futures that await us.
Do you know which future they reach for? The one… beyond — the one which no one has dared to cross. They train and they work and they fight to improve their aim and land beyond the reaches of what is possible.
What would it look like if we did the same with our lives… if we look at our past and realized that there’s beauty in the pain. We can take our disorder and reshape it using one of the most powerful weapons that we’ve ever been given: our imagination.
As writers, we have the ability to create worlds by simply casting our words like spells from the mouth of a wizard. And — like a wizard — in order to use our powers for good, we have to pull our vision of the future from everything within us. We take what has been done to us, for us, and by us and we squeeze out the passion, the love, the pain, the drama, the hate, the injustice, the peace, the fire. Every last thing until only the drops remain and then we push some more. It’s in that liminal space, between this present reality and the next, that we find the thing for which our hearts desire: a hopeful future.
And with that hopeful future comes restoration.
Writing has the power to restore, not only within your life but the lives of others as well. That’s why our words, our art, our craft is so powerful. It can be used to tear down or build up. It can be used to enslave and entrap. To inspire and set free.
There are two ways that you can bring restoration through your art. The first is to write your story. It can be fiction or nonfiction, but there’s a certain freedom that comes from putting your story to paper and letting it burst forth into life. You open your world to others and invite them in. There’s healing in knowing that you are not alone.
The second way is the same as the first:
Write your story.
This time, however, you have to go to the place James Baldwin is talking about. The place where your human skill and imagination collides. You have to take whatever hope you have, be it small or large, and cast it — like an anchor — into the future. Take your imagination and dream up what your story can be, what it will be. Use your imagination to create your future reality.
What it often comes down to is overcoming fear through persistence. I know that I can create an amazing future with my words but I don’t do it because I am often afraid. I fear putting my hopes and dreams into my own hands and dreaming up what could be.
But, if we realize that our disordered lives contain promise, contain some semblance of hope, contain a future, then we can persist. We can put one foot in front of the other and create art today and then do the same tomorrow and then do the same the day after.
You have the power to imagine your world — the world — as a better place. One in which your past wounds fuel your future victories. Let’s not be the ones who give up but be the ones who squeeze out every last drop of hope and imagination possible. And, as it drips to the surface below us, let us use it to paint the canvas of our lives.
How do you restore yourself? Where does your inspiration come from? The floor is yours.
KL Burd (he/him) is a YA Speculative Fiction Author and Educator living in Austin, Texas with his wonderful wife and two amazing boys. As a former teacher and coach, KL thrives on helping individuals reach their full potential, especially young and upcoming writers. Sign up for his newsletter to connect on all things writing. KL writes fiction so that underrepresented kids, especially young Black boys and girls, can see themselves in every type of story imaginable.
Good morning.
You are right about how there is power in words. I wish more writers acted more aware of that power.
I write Romance. Some people say Romance is fantasy. But I think it is more about hope. Two people from different backgrounds or cultures, working out their differences, learning to understand each other, becoming partners, finding love – that is a prescription for a better world. That is hope.
Thank you for the reminder and what I think is a responsibility of a writer, to write truth and to give hope.
Hi Ada! I love your thought about Romance being hope. You nailed it. A good romance is about hope. For those who have never experienced love, it gives them something to point to. For those who have been hurt by it, it gives them new direction. Keep up the good work, it makes a difference.
You put this well. Thank you for setting a good example with your own writing. How would we find your newsletter? I want to elaborate on your definition of art and say that within the beauty and emotional power artists reach for is a reckoning with truths, a verbal attempt to address the nonverbal. This part of the arts urges us to rethink our presumptions and draw fresh conclusions to live by.
Hi Edward! Thank you for your kind words! And thank you for adding to the definition. I will take that addition with me. So powerful.
You can find my newsletter here! https://eepurl.com/hjA3jD
I love the idea of hope leading to restoration. It’s what I hope my stories offer. Lovely article!
Thank you Sylvie!
Keivon, what a beautiful essay that resonates. Beneath it is the foundation–my hope in Christ. Truly, I am restored to wholeness at every confession, every Mass. Deo gratias!
Thank you Vijaya!
That is where I find my hope as well! I drives my writing.
I restore myself via exercise, meditation, yoga, and reading, especially inspirational posts like this one. Thank you. What you’ve eloquently written here has lifted me more than I realized I required today.
What I write is hope and purpose while wielding my imagination, and it’s all powered by the wounds of the past, crafted with the skill of the present, and cast on an anchor into the future of hope and inspiration.
That past and its cruelty and injustice, has been at varying times ignored. I’ve tried running from it, and even wallowing in it. Writing, though, allowed me to mold it, to turn it into an instrument I could wield to help and inspire others, to let them know they aren’t alone and that there is hope. Along the way, posts like this one have done the same for me.
Christina,
That was so beautiful and inspiring. Thank you for your words. They have just recharged me as well. This is why we keep pushing forward. This is why we keep writing. This is why we use our pain and paint a brighter future.
KL, wise words in your post. Restore your imagination every day by writing your story. Exactly what I do. In fact, my historical fiction book (in final editing) gave me a purpose and a new life that ends happily ever after. Many painful experiences became opportunities for resolution & new growth. Your YA Speculative Fiction more than likely does that. I’d like to subscribe to your newsletter. I’ll search for it. 📚🎶 Christine
Thank you Christine! Yes, my Spec-Fiction definitely does that for me. I love that you found purpose and a new life from your own writing. That’s what so magical about it all!
Here is my newsletter!
https://eepurl.com/hjA3jD
What a timely and beautiful post, KL. The highest form of service, to me, is the calling to transform our our pain into hope. I’m usually an optimist person but over the course of the last few years, a heaviness has taken up space in my in my heart. I realize now that this is the result of me not d hiding out in my bubble but seeing the the world as it is. I had the pleasure of hearing Richie Havens sing about not looking away from the suffering and madness in the world. What I heard as the subtext of those lyrics was about not looking away. About looking a squarely at hard truths and still finding beauty. The moments of grace, the glimmerings of promise. I started journaling again recently, the rule being that I can only write down my emotional truths. No more looking away, least of all at my stunned and raging self. I know now that gold lies protected beneath the fire-breathing dragon. Thank you for the reminder today!
Susan!
Wow. Thank you for your words. You totally get it. There’s beauty below the pain, below the hard truths, I will be looking for the moments of grace and the glimmerings of promise.
I could not agree more with Vijaya. What a powerful post! You should add ‘Philosopher’ to your curriculum vitae. Thank you.
Ha! Thank you Jan. Philosopher is such a high honor. Hopefully, I can claim it as we move through the years.
The statement “Use your imagination to create your future” resonated with me. I often find in my short-fiction works an attempt to take dull or dreary autobiographical details and turn them into something much more. I have also felt guilty about this, making past experiences and people something much grander and more meaningful than they really
were. Now, having read this piece, that guilt is greatly reduced. Thanks, KL.
Jim,
That makes me glad to hear. Those past experiences are valid and you never know who you might impact. Your voice is valuable!
I have heard about the power of the spoken word, but never thought it could be applied to the written word.
Could we change our lives, simply by creating a better one?
Thank you, KL. I hope you don’t mind, I posted the link for this article to the Christian Writers Downunder Facebook group. (Hi from South Australia!)
I also write mostly for YA, and there has never been such a time to point to hope, especially for them. The virus epidemic, with its lockdowns affecting school attendance and social life, and casting a long shadow over the future, has led to a lot of depression among young people.
Let’s throw that javelin further than we ever imagined we could, for their sakes and for our own restoration.