Why do you write? What drives you?
It's not all fun and games, you know, and sometimes it's like beating your head against a rock because it feels so good when you stop, and yet we persevere. There is a whole world of people out there who do not write. Who think the thought of writing a story or a book sounds about as appealing as strolling through hell. So, why do YOU write?
I write because:
1.) Well, what else would I do with my time? Housework? I don’t think so.
2.) What would I do with the images I see, the feelings they provoke, the flashes of raw emotion that take my breath away? The people who are bent with age? The sunsets? The beautiful house at the end of the road? Kittens? Need? Guilt? The totally aqua water I found on Maui? My dog's cute face? Danita's baby's smile? My friends? The love of my husband? Loss? Bravery? Fear?
3.) And what would I do with the ideas that pop into my head? The looking out a car window and seeing decaying berry vines and thinking of that group of old men who formed a band, the Buena Vista Men's Club, I think, and what might it be like if it was a band of old women and one of them was missing? Stuff like that? What do other people do with these kind of thoughts?
4.) And, hello, do other people have these kind of thoughts? If not, in what form do their imaginations exist? None of you can tell me because you're all writers and your imaginations are probably much like mine. Although I do have a friend who sees patterns and colors everywhere. She makes quilts. So is that how other people see? Or just quilters?
5.) Besides, writing scratches an itch somewhere deep inside. An itch I can't label. Sometimes, an itch I wish I could shake.
6.) It's part of my identity. I am a wife, a mother, a grand mother. But I am also a writer and in those fleeting moments of doubt, I wonder what I would be if I wasn't also a writer. I have a friend who says it's very American to define yourself by your job. She insists that the English, for example, don't do this. I don't know if she's right, all I know is that when I say I am a writer it goes deeper than how I spend my days, how I spend my life. How I make a little money. How I fill a few hours. How I interpret the events of my life and share them in ways few people are privileged to do. Deeper.
So, why do you write?
10 comments:
I love your posts :-) It feels like you're here talking to me even though you're not. I hope you come to the meeting... :-)
What drives me? I've wanted to be a writer for as long as I could remember. But I always thought I'd write horror, not romance. Writing friends such as you all keep me going. And the feeling that this is the right thing for me to do. I feel comfortable with it, enjoy it, and at peace with it. A new thing for me.
Alice, you ask a very tough question.
I think it's the same for many writers. I don't choose to write, the writing chose me. In other words, I can't not write. And it's an interesting phenomenon for me, too. It's like all this "stuff" builds up inside me and if I don't let it out I'll go nuts. I feel so good after writing, kind of like quenching a thirst, or scratching that itch you're talking about, or slipping into a hot bath when you're chilled to the bone. It's a feeling of satisfaction, of completeness, of just being right.
When I get frustrated about my writing and start thinking I should quit, I imagine what it would be like without a book to work on. I would be miserable. Writing is simply something I MUST do.
Karen
I love your posts :-) It feels like you're here talking to me even though you're not. I hope you come to the meeting... :-)
Lisa--That's such a nice thing to say.
You're lucky to have found such a perfect fit.
Karen--Well put. You're right, it's sometimes not a conscious choice. Working every day, staying with it, that's the choice. But writing choses you, just like you said.
Alice
I've never not written. My mother says I wrote my first story around age 4. My teachers said I had TOO much imagination. I chose law b/c I thought I needed a "sensible" profession. I still wrote.
I write because as Alice puts it--I love writing "the end."
FINISHING. I love having written.
Additionally,
1.) I love letting the stories in my head play out--It's like turning on a DVD in my brain.
2.) I love editing. I do not love drafting. I love having drafted. But, I love editing and I love editing my own work way more than other people's.
3.) I like making myself laugh. Making myself laugh out loud makes my day.
4.) The RWA.
5.) I like the connection it gives me with my mother.
6.) Research. I like collecting information and organizing it.
7.) Plotting. I love to plot. I love to outline.
8.) Every time I read a stellar book it makes me want to write that much more.
9.) I like the thrill of a byline. Yes, I admit to being a naracisstic wench.
I ditto Karen's answer.
And I have to say, until I started writing, I thought everyone walked around with people jabbering away at them in their heads, scenes floating around, mini-plots taking form. I didn't realize that wasn't the norm.
I write so my family can live with me. If I go too long without writing, I get crabby and the "B" word. Just ask my hubby! :)
I have loved words since - forever. If I wasn't reading I was writing. I've always had a vivid imagination - I still do. I can be driving home from a chapter meeting, go around a corner and see the river looming before me - and my mind clicks into scenarios. What if the car goes out of control and I end up in the river? What would I do? Then I go through all the reactions of family and friends. Then I think that's silly and a short time later I'm thinking "what if" about something else and my characters are getting involved.
So what was the question? Oh yeah, why do I write. Because it's what makes me me and I can't think of anything else that fulfills me completely like writing something and having it entertain.
Oh and Alice... Great post! And I agree with Lisa. You're a gem and I'm glad I met you!
Everyone's answers are so wonderful and I agree with you all! Thanks,
Alice
Alice, thanks for this post. It makes us all soul-search a bit and remember why it is we write (and how sweet to mention baby D's smile).
I write because I have to.
Since I was a child, I've kept a diary, a journal, written stories and poetry. When I want something I write my way through the desire. When I lose something, I write myself through the grief. It is a healing tool for me like few others, almost a form of prayer, at times. Even the fiction I write is a way I learn about myself and the world around me. If I don't understand it, I write about it. If I do understand it, I understand it better after having written.
Whether I ever publish fiction or not, I will continue to write. Forever. My grandmother is a writer and now I have passed the love of telling stories down to my daughter. Hopefully she will pass it down to her child.
Oh, Danita, that's so lovely (Ack! an ly word!) I love thinking of writing as a legacy. I bet we all see something of our own motivations in the words we read from other writers--and friends.
I'm a lucky woman. I think we all are.
Alice
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