Doubt

How do you write a novel when the world's problems are so large, and at least as far as I can tell, they don't seem to be caused by a novel-shaped hole?

Poorly. The answer so far is poorly.

I love books. I love the way they fill up your imagination with possibilities. Sometimes I love the way they let you escape, let you run away from a reality that is often painful, and sometimes unbearable.

Lately, however, I've struggled. So many terrible things are happening, and it's harder to hide in the pages of a book. The story I'm trying to tell feels self-involved. There are more important things I could be focusing on.

I love stories so much, but if they can't fix the real problems we face, do they still matter? Should I dedicate so much time to writing, when it may be a distraction from what really matters?

I don't know. I want to keep writing. I want to create something wonderful. I don't want to feel burned out, but I do feel burdened by bad news and the pressures of modern life.

I don't have an answer. But I do want to keep writing. A book should tie up all the plots, an essay, should have a clear ending. When you don't know how to end an essay, you shouldn't just stop in the middle of a