Why Writing Seems More Important than My Family (but isn't)

Writing is communication. I was not the first to say this, but I said it best. I was also not the first to say it best (see "Elements of Style" by Strunk and White). This means that writing is similar to conversation, another form of communication. The major difference is that conversation entails back and forth communication between two or more people, a mutual exchange of information. Narrative writing is one person giving information to another person, no reply expected.

Conversations are generally fairly rapid. In my mind this can be for two reasons: we are well practiced and we can immediately clarify any misunderstanding. There may be other reasons, but theses are the most salient to me. Writing, is generally slower. It takes much longer to write a book than it takes to read one. This is because people are not as practiced at writing as they are at conversation. Also, you rarely have the opportunity to clarify misunderstandings when you write. The words have to be perfect the first time.

What does this have to do with my family? I will often spend hours a night writing fiction. During that time I am not very attentive to my family. What this means is that I spend more time on my writing than on my family. Based on allocation of time, my writing may appear more important than my family, but that is not the case. I am practiced at communicating with my family. I can spend less time trying to find the right words, because of how familiar I am with my family. The time difference is due to practice. I don't need to spend as much time with my family as I do with my writing to make it right.

A lot of you are shaking your heads in dismay. No, this does not excuse me to spend less time with my family. If anything, I should be cautious about my well-seasoned communication skills. We all should. We take for granted our ability to communicate and converse that we often don't do it well enough. If we spent a little extra time thinking about what we said, before we said it, there would be less miscommunication and all the problems associated with it. I should spend more time with my family, making sure that my communication is everything it should be and nothing it should not be both in quality and quantity.

Would I have upset you, dear reader, if I had thought before posting today?