From writeup above:
"Human beings do not have a memory of feelings."
First, while I think the quotation that generated this node is excellent and Ashley's intent seems sincere, I write the following as a rebuttal. My words below are meant as a
simple and polite response.
No. I disagree.
Many writers spend their entire lives writing about feelings. Those they had and remember -vividly. Also, of course there are the feelings that others have shared with them and often- very often I think, there are imagined feelings. Those emotions unknown, but pondered- the "I wonder How they felt when that happened even though I was not there" sort of feelings.
The attempt, the effort, to capture that moment is for many writers (myself included) the entire purpose of the enterprise. It is the reason for the words.
Describing the What in some detail- in rich and explicit detail- might give others an insight into the Why and the How. It is a recounting of your feelings at that moment, as a reaction to an event- to a person, etc. That story may be the Foreground, the background or the entire progression that led to that moment- that led to your interest in writing About it. In any form this is and can be described.
A statement of what is , if written well, has staying power. It may not be a faithful reproduction, but it is a specific description. A statement of what is; of what was.
When captured and put into text your writing should/ might/could - give that insight- and your audience--the readers of this-should/might/could share that with you- an echo that would enlighten. Not necessarily a noble goal, but a goal worth pursuing.
Lastly, and perhaps not coincidentally, I would like to respond to the suggestion that few writers create while intoxicated. I would guess that there are thousands (millions?) of brillant artists- living and dead, who worked while drunk and/or while stoned. Not all of them writers, but more than a few. Creations made while under the influence range from brilliant to pathetic. That work likely amazes and bewilders both artists and their audience. I would bet that much of this never sees the light of day. I would also venture that much of what we describe as brilliant work was created in just this fashion.
This is not an endorsement, simply a reporting of fact.