“The sun rises under the pillar of your tongue.
My hours are married to shadow.”

~ Sylvia Plath

Doomed to be defined by her death, Sylvia Plath had some moments in the sun: publication, praise, notoriety.

Plath struggled with depression her entire adult life and, at the age of 30, took her own life.

If she found joy/relief in anything, it was in writing. In a letter to her mother (1955), she wrote, “Now with me, writing is the first delight in life.”

Plath was driven to succeed. But her mental health issues were too overwhelming. What potential she may have had for a lifelong career will never be known.

What is it that drives us to want to write? Ego must be in there somewhere. A wish to be validated. To be heard, perhaps. To tell one magnificent, irresistible, unforgettable story.

We’ve all been moved by words we’ve read: stories and poems and movie scripts that have made us cry, laugh, wonder, reconsider, delight in the imagination of another. We want to give that gift to others. To the world, if we can.

One brilliant line. Surrounded by as many more that are as close to brilliant as we can manage.

Tell me, my writing friends, what drives you to write?