Intentional Worlds

Intentional world is the name given to a world created by human beings. It includes ideas, customs, beliefs, and dreams, in one word: Life. Perhaps the idea of naming   blog about writing after this idea (more commonly used in psychology) seems a bit strange the first time, but when you think about it, creating worlds is exactly what we writers do. We dream, we imagine, we dare to ask: What if? Why not? And without caring too much about how much sense the answers make (because that’s what revision is for), we plant the seed of a new world in our heads. And very slowly, the seed germinates, and something (we’re not sure what yet) begins to grow inside us. And one day we realize, with a little horror and a lot of anticipation, that what’s growing inside is a story that will eventually contain a whole new world we created. And before we know what happened, we’ve become a writer. Well, at least, that’s how it was for me.

I’ve been a compulsive reader and story teller since I can remember. The funny thing is, I never thought of myself as a writer until a few years ago. I’d write stories and poems and keep them to myself. I’d come up with ideas, and questions, and characters that would get stuck in my head, until I had to put them in paper to get them out of my mind just to be able to go to sleep. But even then, I didn’t consider myself a writer. Why? because it’s hard. Because the moment you say it, it becomes real, and you have to come to terms with the idea that people will look at you funny and ask, “yes, but what do you do?” And well, coming up with that answer took me a few years and some courage (and a lot of interesting experiences I refuse to call mistakes). So now here’s my answer: I build worlds inside my head.