Emotional Release

There's something about writing which, for me, provides an intense emotional release. 

I began writing "Elsa" over the summer.  It was, at that time, not exactly about me and most certainly not intended to be a story.  It was a sketch; the tale of an hour of time, of an experience supremely significant yet hardly memorable (this was true for both the reader and Elsa, the character). 

When I received the assignment to write a short story, I immediately thought of Elsa.  Could I write anything better?  But it was not a short story.

With the things I've learned about short story in class and through additional dialogue with the professor, I began to see the potential to alter "Elsa" from sketch to short story.  But could I do this without compromising the effect which it was written for?

So I began to write... And "Elsa" is becoming more and more about me; a picture of my life.  And, although I am still not finished, I am drained.  To commit myself to paper is exhausting.  It is vulnerable and intimidating.  It is also both beautiful and spiritually beautiful.