The Writer's Connection

[Theresa Varela]

My reading list has multiplied faster than a litter of reggaetoning
bunnies. Once the word was out that I’d been on the hunt for good Latino
mysteries, I’d somehow connected with a bunch of readers and a crazy number of
writers.  When I started blogging and trying to figure out what I wanted to
focus on, I came up with three things. They were spirituality, psychiatry and,
of course, writing. The events of the last couple of weeks showed me there has
been one common theme-Connecting. Sitting alone in front of a computer for hours
on each does not exist- or at least it shouldn’t.

One of the loneliest states to be in is one of isolation. I hear about this everyday in my little
corner of the mental health world. Isolating becomes so powerful that many
people believe that they actually like and crave it.  Not wanting to be bothered
with others, thinking one doesn't have much to share or the opposite stance of
feeling greater than everyone else doesn't leave much room for connection.  In
the days of olde, a writer scratched some fountain blue ink on thick parchment
paper, bound it in twine and voila- a book was born. The next step was to have
one's manservant or one’s lady in waiting make sure it reached the editor and
publisher by the end of a fortnight. An occasional feather on your blotter might
have been most trying. [Note: Jane Austen was not the only famous early female
author. Filomena Padilla wrote too, but she did so in dirt with a stick]. Not
today! Zim. Zam. It's already there. And there are several billion other books
just like it saying, choose me, choose me. It’s essential to make some sort of
connection with yourself first and then your intended audience.

A spiritual must for me is that I read other writers’ great and mundane works. These
conspire to make me feel one of a greater community.  I've decided to open my
blog up even further. I'd like to know what my comadres and
compadres in the writing world think when they put pen to paper,
fingertip to key or voice to Dictaphone. There are distinct variables that have
converged in order for us to choose our writing genres. My plan is to have
interviews with the countless others I connect with. There are those of us who
choose to write instead of watching a fourth episode of Law and Order. We stay
at our desks late into the night knowing we have an eight am meeting at our day
job. We write YA mysteries after spending a day with rowdy teens.

I'm glad the several authors who took the time out to comment on my blog did. I
don't think they wanted to “sell" their books at all. It was more about
connecting the similarities. Some were Latino, others were interested in the
genre and a few thoughtful folks gave credit where it was due.  Today, my
question is where'd you get the writing fever and how do you keep the flame
alive!

Talk to me writers. Press comment and keep the fires burning!