A twitter friend was talking today about feeling like an impostor, and that with all the bad stuff happening in the world, whether or not she gets her books published seems like such a small thing. I’ve had bouts of feeling like that, myself. I firmly believe that I am going to live to see the end of the world. And it’s scary. And it makes writing seem like such a pointless pursuit.

But, reading her thoughts on that made me think of other conversations I’ve had with other writer friends. Yes, the world is going to Hell in a handbasket. Yes, it is looking more and more like we will live to see the end of the world. But, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep writing. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t keep sending our words out there.

Because now, more than ever, the world needs fiction. We need an escape. We need a chance to take a step back and make the world go away for a little while.

When the Titanic was sinking, the dance band knew they weren’t getting off that ship. They were going to die. And so, they did the only thing they could do. They kept playing. They did what they could to make the last moments of the others who weren’t getting off that ship a tiny bit better.

When we end up destroying ourselves, there won’t be any lifeboats. Nobody is getting off this planet. When the end comes, it will come for all of us.

I am writing stories that probably don’t matter much in the grand scheme of things. But, if I can make the world go away for a little while for even one person, then I will consider myself a success.

So, for all you creative types out there, wondering what the point of artistic expression is in a world quickly going to Hell, I am going to repeat what I said to my friend. “We may very well be the dance band on the Titanic, but that doesn’t mean we should quit playing.” The world needs us, now more than ever.