Why Do Writers Write? - 2

I think that one of the most wonderful things about being a writer is to be able to step out of the ‘real’ world we all live in and into the world of the book you are creating at the time.

If the creative process is really working for you, you’ll be able to ‘see’ the scenes in your mind, talk to the people in them and actually BE in the ‘world’ of the book.
That's a tremendous draw for me as a writer and, I suspect for many other creative people. There have been times when I’ve started on a scene – simply writing what I’ve seen in my head - and I could be there at the keyboard for two hours and look up at the clock think I’ve only been there ten minutes because I’ve been so completely absorbed.
When you get it right it really is an incredible experience and I think that's why a lot of creative people who feel frustrated with their art are vulnerable to getting lost in drugs and alcohol. Perhaps because drugs and alcohol appear to transport you out of the present in a similar way, although not to the depth and the breadth and the emotional return that actually being in the creative process can bring, and with far more dangerous consequences.
Sometime, if you’re lucky, the book takes on a life of its own and you don't have control over it. When this happens you’re basically commentating on what you see and feel in your head. You may have created a purely fictional character but there’s a point when they go beyond being like a matchstick man of ideas that you have to having a life of their own and starting to actually talk to you.
So . . . back to the keyboard!