Writers.

So on Thursday night, I had my very first reading ever! Very exciting.

It was also kind of hilarious. Not what I read (although I'd like to hope parts of it were funny) but the event in itself. There were 3 other writers there. Two men who read poems, one woman who read a short story. I read a selection from A House Afire. The book's sort of fun and whimsical, once described as akin to a journal. The journal of a teenage girl with a weird home. So there's me, reading my silly scene full of various characters and dialogue, possibly hard to follow but obviously not very serious at all. I finished reading.

And then the next writer read some poems about death. He said that when you're alive, all of your relationships with other people are like balls you're juggling in the air, and when someone close to you dies, it's akin to dropping them all. And that wasn't even in his poem, that's what he said beforehand. And the next writer read about a girl with a troubled home life and a disappearing town, and a story that won't be published. She was witty and sarcastic and talked about her heartbreaking problems with humorous detachment and sarcasm, a matter-of-fact tone. The last writer? He danced around the floor in the front of the room, reading poems about human interaction, and his intricate psychological workings and problems, describing himself as "a dangerous intersection."

In short they were all amazing, and deep, and it was kind of hilarious that I opened for them. I have yet to reach the deep end. So to speak. Oh dear, I hope that isn't read and taken badly.
But it made me wonder.
To be a writer, do you have to be deep? Are all writers sad and complicated with bitter senses of humor and alcohol problems? I joke about that (not old enough to try out the alcoholic thing just yet) all the time. But do you have to have a tortured soul to be a writer? A tragic past?
I've heard that all artists of all types are very self-focused, but honestly, that seems to lately be a human trait. What are the traits you need to be a writer? Will pain make you a better writer? Can imagination alone suffice without experience?

....

Also, I've been a terrible writer and blogger in the last few weeks and must apologize PROFUSELY to those bloggers waiting for interview answers that I've been stumbling over and book copies to review. Just got those today, actually.

And thank you followers! I don't know who's still taking a look at this blog but my next stop is the Saturday Network and then perhaps more zooming around the blogosphere.
And sorry if this post reflects how tired I am!!