On All Things Desire
It was famously said by Blanche DuBois that ‘the opposite of death is desire’. A Streetcar Named Desire is one of my all-time favorite plays, and as the years have gone by, I think I’m just beginning to scratch the surface of why that truly is. If what Blanche said really is true, is it possible to live a life without desire?
When writing a story, we are told that the core of the story needs to make itself known – that core of the story being the yearning that resides within the piece. Blanche Dubois yearns for security and comfort after a lifetime of death and pain. Gatsby aches for Daisy and the unattainable dream that is her life. What do you yearn for?
As writers and complex beings, we are always desiring something. Thinking of that delectable slice of chocolate cake. That dream job you spent night after night thinking about as a kid. That one person who walked out of your life and never looked back. There are a multitude of things we want at any given time, it’s just that some make themselves more known than others.
When it came to my own writing, I tried to think about this when carefully crafting a story. That’s when I realized that desires are excavated and made themselves known. They can’t be forced. Yes, we do begin with a rough idea of what world we are creating, who our character is and what point of view it is narrated through. However, that isn’t all there is to it.
Why is desire so important anyway?
Well, desire plays a huge part in why we are the way we are. The things we wear. The things we read. The things we write. In the last year, many things in my life changed. I made the shift from working full-time to going back to school to finish my Master’s degree. There, I had to get back to writing stories and crafting imagined worlds. Funnily enough, despite being someone who identified as a writer, I couldn’t think of anything to write. My short stories fell flat and I became increasingly frustrated.
What helped my writer’s block was forcing myself to sit down, setting a timer and not judging where the story was headed. By letting it reveal itself instead of controlling every aspect of it, each edit helped me get closer to something genuine. Waiting for creativity to come isn’t viable in the long run. All I could do was create an environment where I felt safe to write and to tap into my vulnerability. Without vulnerability, we tend to tiptoe around the story which makes it feel muddled. Here, the story dies before it could even begin.
We can’t be afraid of tapping into the unknown parts of ourselves when we write a story. The reality is, in every piece of work we create, we give a part of ourselves to it. That in itself is a terrifying thought, especially if you aren’t ready to access those desires and thoughts.
So, what now?
Think of what it is that you desire even if it’s insignificant or embarrassing. Then, try to access that desire and just begin to write as an exercise. See what makes itself known to you. I believe writing begins with the very act of committing to putting one word after another to create a string of sentences that make a story.
Desire is necessary in both writing and life. Whether it’s you having that slice of cake or re-reading that random phrase or idea that you felt the need to jot down. Indulge in those things and see what comes from it. It might end up being one of your best stories or maybe you might just be rewarded for doing something truly vulnerable.
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