This morning, I read a post on Jennifer Hubbard’s blog. It was an interview with Shaun David Hutchinson about his book, The Deathday Letter, where people get a letter 24 hours before their demise, informing them of the coming end. The book is about what 15 year old Oliver does with his last day when he receives notice. I haven’t actually read the book, so I have no idea what Oliver does. However, it got me thinking, what would I do on my last day?
Isaac Asimov said the following: "If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster."
I think it is obvious what he would have done if he got a Deathday letter.
Can you say the same as this author (and probably many more)? Would you write if you got your Deathday Letter?
I have no idea what I’d do with my last day. But I can tell you this: I hope that I can write to the end*. Chances are that if I got my Deathday Letter today, writing would be the last thing on my mind. But it is a goal that I hope to reach. To grow as a writer and get to know the craft until it is like breathing. Until I cannot stop myself from writing.
What would you do on you last day? Is writing your favourite pastime? Do you have a message you want to deliver to the world?
Age old advice, “Live each day like it’s your last.” If you have a story you want to get into the world, don’t wait. Craft and craft until it is perfect. Don’t wait for better days. They might just never come.
* Okay, I’d probably like to say goodbye to everyone I care about and all that, but I communicate better by writing than talking anyway.
Writing is an important part of my life, but if I got that sort of letter, I don't think I'd be writing on my last day. I think the point to my writing is to feel more, and to record what I feel and what I think other people feel. So, for my last day, I'd probably just want to be on some mountain top, experiencing emotion one last time.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. Writing mostly comes down to recording what people feel, I think. I'd like to record that feeling I had on the last day by writing it down (now that you mention it). If you go to experience emotion (along with the emotion associated with having your last day), wouldn't that be a good motivation to record it for the world?
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