“I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.” – Flannery O’Connor

I came across this quote this morning in one of the newsletters about screenwriting that I subscribe to. I sometimes wonder if other writers are like me and have this strong need to write their feelings out in order to really see them. A lot of the time I don’t realise what is bothering me, other than an feeling of a cloud of doubt or anxiety, sometimes sadness, that hangs over me. I feel the strong need to withdraw almost daily from the people around me to write a little in a notebook or journal, and often find that I had no idea that I was bothered by something or why that might be, until it’s there in front of me on paper. Other times, I’ll find a story gently pulling me in a direction that makes me think about how I approach life or drawing out thoughts and philosophies that I never knew I had, until they are there in front of me on paper.