What Writing is to Me

Jessie Nilo

Photography

In a recent writing workshop, we were prompted to reflect on what writing is to us. I immediately thought of my husband who loves to cook, so I used Dom’s cooking as a metaphor for working with words. In this photo, you see my husband excitedly sorting hot peppers for a recipe he wants to try. I wrote:

Chop, mix, stir.

Make the words do flips and cartwheels, or rest at the bottom of the bowl. Layers. Look, see, sift. Settle. Shift. Choosing composition. Taste and adjust. Ah. Who will delight in this compilation? Me, God, maybe others. And maybe it doesn’t matter who. Just that I made something today. I write, I wrote; I play with sounds, scenes, thoughts. This is writing to me.