Why Place Matters

Like others have commented thus far, it was also difficult for me to interpret “The Writing Life.” There were, however, some ideas that came to mind. Although Dillard herself did not make connections between her surroundings and her writing, in a way her writing and her surroundings were very much related. Perhaps she had such a difficult time mustering up the energy to begin a work because she did not feel a connection to the isolated cabins where she attempted to work. In my opinion, she fits the category of writers that Sanders describes in his piece: writers who feel that in order to write well, one must live an obscure life on the edge. I feel as though Dillard was looking for inspiration from places and things that she had no previous connection to, and, therefore, her ability to begin writing was a bit hindered.
Sanders, on the other hand, finds his inspiration and his ability to write well from the places and things of which he is most familiar. For him, there is no distinction between one’s home and past experiences and good writing. It is our past, our experiences, our beliefs, and the people who surround us who shape us; it does not seem plausible that in order to be a good writer one must abandon all of those defining aspects of one’s being. I am not a writer, but every choice I make, every relationship I have and the people I surround myself with somehow relate back to my past: my parents, my siblings, my beliefs and all other aspects of my past. It has been my experience that while reading about another person’s experiences, I truly become immersed in the writer’s world. Sanders writes on page 157, “I wished to make my new home ground the ground of my imagination.” His creativity stems from a familiar place, not the obscure or isolated places that many try to find inspiration. As a student with writing assignments, no matter what the subject, it seems that I am always able to write better when I can draw in my own experiences and past- that is when I feel most powerful.