Date Someone Who Writes
Maybe even fall in love. Date or fall in love with a writer, he/she doesn’t have to be established or validated to qualify as a writer; they might just love to write. Write and scribble lines branching out into verses and paragraphs. If you are benevolent enough they would even incorporate your presence in their words. Don’t look too forward to it because those words aren’t always kind. They can be cruel and honest, so much that despite your anonymity in their raging monologues you would feel them speaking right at you. But stay with them, because it is through that very pen and mind they will floor you. Day after day hopefully progressing onto years, you would see them getting better at what is probably their only forte: expression. Love them for this expression. Stay or leave them for this very inhibition.
Date a writer because they hate themselves. Not in the terrible way, but in an unrealistic competitive way. Because many have held the pen with greater valor leaving behind insurmountable legacies and despite moments of conquer they always end up feeling timid. And it is this inextinguishable humility that will make them sensitive to your battles in life. They will be compassionate because they know how futile hard work can feel and they also know how to continue. Continue pursuing despite crushing levels of self-doubt. They might just pursue your love and happiness with the same passion if you learn to respect theirs.
Date a writer because unlike popular notions they aren’t all that about romance, what they really are about is originality. They might talk about something as common as dreaming but will only make it their own after great effort. Because when your instrument is something as accessible and exploitable as language, the endeavor of authenticity is manifold hard. Using ‘beauty’ and yet making it subjective and personal enough. Just enough to achieve the sought emotion which could be either laughter or misery. And it is this quest for exclusivity in the mundane that will make you feel special day in and out. They probably won’t compliment on your style or looks as much as they would on the trivialities that make you unique in their eyes.
Date someone who writes because they are always looking for narratives. Be it for comedy or tragedy, your lover would have the ability to create narratives around afternoon tea, evening walks or street light. They don’t look passively; they observe creating at times dense and mostly foolish layers of imaginary stories around things. But it’s not just that, they would then pick it up and induce it into something larger and meaningful. Like how your fingers running on their skin made them feel like maps of your humble voyages. They won’t be blinded to the connection between your past and present, as part of being a writer is tailoring tales. And in the process they would notice rough and bold stitches that you made. But like they respect integration, they also respect fragmentation.
Date someone who writes because they are not afraid to be dependent. They are not afraid to share and display pieces of their heart on multiple forums, yearning for people to read. All artists suffer that but writers are already beginning this race from behind, because one cannot simply arrive and stare at their writing, experiencing catharsis within moments. Admiring a writer takes hard work and those who write strive on that. They wait eagerly and patiently for their observers to absorb the words. And words are not forgiving, they have the tendency to dwindle and disappear like smoke. One has to know how to keep them and hold them, no matter how hard. So, they will be forgiving towards you and wait for your anxieties and pleasures to sprout and spread. Seeing you struggling, they will stand still hoping for you to find the right words. But like words, writers are also unforgiving. So be careful as they will at times penalize you for an unruly expression or exclamation. It is this sensitivity towards words that is both their strength and weakness.
Date someone who writes because you will inspire them, in whatever way, and they will pay that debt by immortalizing you.