Writing: Pain or Pleasure by Marcia Dutton

Before a friend got me writing and I joined The Bayou Writer’s Group, I was a busy artist trying to find enough time to paint. I now discover that writing has become an addiction, something like email communication. My life is no longer my own and I don’t know where to allot my precious time.

It appears that writing has surpassed my desire to paint. There is so much I want to say and tell young family members of their ancestors, of whom they have little knowledge, but a keen desire to know. Now as the eldest in my extended family, I feel an obligation to tell some of the stories that fascinated me.

Additionally, having lived and traveled around the world, there are experiences I wish to share with them. As I write, I have found such pleasure in remembering incidents long put on a back burner as present day life takes control.

BWG is a joy to belong to. In the usual social everyday life, how often does one get to learn the thoughts and experiences of other people? Believe me, you hear some fascinating stories. And, how often do people ask about you or your experiences? Very rarely. In such a group, you get the opportunity to share as well as learn.

Just the act of writing is beneficial to the mind. Writing is as much a science as an art form, and like so many things, is ever-changing…good exercise for working those old gray cells.

All in all, even if, like me, you are no professional, you can still find writing to be a pleasure.

Award-winning artist Marcia Dutton has published letters to the editor in the American Press and the only English newspaper in Saudi Arabia. She was a newsletter editor in Saudi Arabia and sent numerous letters home to family members about life in the various countries she lived in. Marcia is writing a book of memoirs about her days in the U.S. Navy and her many adventures abroad.