VMI’s Writer Q and A for November: Writing as Bridge

I see all writing as a kind of translation that “bears across,” is a conveyance of an idea across the bridge from a mind to a page. But I wonder to what extent is this task possible? Does characterizing brain-sparks clarify or obscure? Is language a sufficient means? And—since it’s all we’ve got—what if it’s not? [Meaghan Rondeau]

Dear Writer,

Writing is bridgework, and writers are bridge builders, though in writing the bridge is always necessarily (and wonderfully) incomplete. Unquantifiable, somewhat magical powers are needed to complete the crossing—leaps, flights, catapults—across the gap between thought and word in the writer, between the single word and whole story, and between a writer’s words and the reader’s mind. Continue reading Claudia Casper’s answer on the Vancouver Manuscript Intensive website.

Do you have a manuscript that you would like to complete? The deadline to apply to the program is November 17th. See details here.