Creativity is always key. The artist’s wellspring, or something.
I remembered a quote about this because I live on quotes. Rudolfo A. Anaya wrote:
“… a writer’s job is to find and follow people like Justino. They’re the source of life… They may be illiterate, but they understand our descent into the pozo of hell, and they understand us because they’re willing to share the adventure with us. You seek fame and notoriety and you’re dead as a writer.”
People willing to share the adventure—do we rob them of something? Do we carry away a small part of what they told us? Or are we the ones to lose a part of ourselves?