Modern day pen and ink

People who write often have a profound connection with others who share the same passion for words, for they drip from our lips like honey and the ink flows across the page filled with our hearts desires, secrets, passions and even our mundane nothing thoughts.

There are the non -writers in the world who don't understand the profound effect the power of the pen can have. Words can be welded like a weapon and used for good or evil. The outpouring of words from a writer allows reader and writer to have a bond like no other. Writers connect with each other through the written word- it's our craft, we want to reach people, to touch people, to create emotions... and sometimes, the non-writer just doesn't understand this.

This is a huge idea, even a poetic one, but a true one. Let's look at letters. I always wax poetic about letters, famous love letters. These are kept and bound in books and shared as a part of history. Writing these letters is a way to express every part of a person. I love to look at letters as a form of history and I even collect books of letters from love letters to war letters to famous correspondence between famous lovers. The words dance across the page and stir within us a need to purge our soul to another, even if it's merely a re -accounting of daily events. The written word in a letter carries joys and sorrows to another who is thousands of miles away.

Words can fuse people together. Those who have never met can feel a tie to another just through words. I read an immense amount of books and I swear I could "fall" for the character of Ranger in the Stephanie Plum (I would be friends with her, too) book series. I have the hots for Atticus Kodiak, another book character. I think Atticus Finch could be considered one of the best fathers of all times. These are fictional people whom I shall never meet since they are the mind's creation, but the power of the author's words, voice, style, mind leads me to be attracted to fictional men.

Look at bloggers. This is a world where a writer can make friends. Actual real friends. Yes, because we are all writers and have the absolute power of the scribe at our fingertips. Our craft allows us to make others laugh or cry or be angry. We tune in to our favorite bloggers for a good laugh or to see if someone is feeling better. We cheer on these total strangers in their quests for happy lives. We bare the details of our lives for all the world to see. We become encapsulated by some, and weary and wary of others. We want to see who had a baby, how the divorce is progressing, who found a job, moved across the country, share a recipe, nominate each other for top blogger (please vote for me), and to see if someone is just having a better day... We feel for others in the world of writing: we share emotions with these strangers who are miles, states, countries and worlds apart from us.

I have a bunch of lurkers- why do you folks come here? I mean really-I never thought I was interesting enough for strangers to read my life saga daily but apparently some people out there want to know what wacky Lucy Ricardo thing I'm going to end up doing next.

We bloggers have formed a community and are forming bonds and friendships that can lead to anything from reading to comments to emails to phone calls to visits. Some even marry or find romance. Many bloggers meet each other for fun. Some people think blogging friendships are strange... I dunno, I think it just makes sense. The people in my blog world know as much, or maybe more, about me than my non-blogging friends. It seems like a safe place to be myself. I like this forum. I like it as a writer, as a blogger, and as me. The power of the pen is a force to be reckoned with.

Maggie