The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say.
–Anaïs Nin
This quote caught my eye, since in my personal life lately, I’m struggling with things said and unsaid. When I read the quotation, I initially thought the ending was going to be, "but what only we can say." In other words, to tell the story only you can tell, as we’re always hearing writers and editors say at conferences. But Anais Nin takes it one step farther and challenges us more: Say what we are unable to say. I can interpret that several ways, and they all scare me–that responsibility, that stepping beyond the normal boundaries.
What do you think? Do you write what you can’t say?