- This topic has 16 replies, 16 voices, and was last updated March 16, 2013 at 3:18 pm by
.
-
Posts
-
We’ve had “Why don’t you write?” What about the reasoning behind why you DO write?
For me, it’s at least partially a matter of sanity. I’ve written to keep myself from going bonkers pretty much since I started in ’88. Back then, it was to alleviate feelings of loneliness, and I wrote Star Trek: The Next Generation fanfic. More recently, since a breakdown I suffered after being prematurely discharged from the Navy and subsequent efforts to squeeze my writing into religious structure, it’s been more an effort of regaining the fun in my creative endeavors. I’ve always had ideas for stories, and getting them out is still important for me, but I’ve had to take writing down to glorified hobby since my breakdown and almost killing my writing so I can focus on the important part of it, which is enjoying the writing process.
Ashe Elton Parker
"Just love me, fear me, do as I say, and I will be your slave." ~ David Bowie as Jareth in Labyrinth
~*~
Member since 1998.
~*~I write because I can’t imagine not writing. I get ideas, and they have to be written. If I wasn’t the one writing them, they wouldn’t get written. It’s like an obsession.
Edit: What I mean by that is that I like a lot of strange things, and I get frustrated that I can’t find books that do some of these things, even though I like the books I read. So, part of why I write is that I want to fill that gap — I want to write the books that I wish were already out there. Sometimes, this causes me self-doubt: what if I really AM the only one who would like to read things like that? Then, my book will never sell. But if I don’t write them, then those books never *will* exist. At least if I write them, they’ll exist, even if they don’t sell.
I’m actually a bit of a late comer when it comes to writing. I was more into the visual side of art, but I did like to make my own graphic novels now and again. I decided to try my hand at just writing some years ago and I enjoy it so much I keep doing it. It’s another creative outlet for me, this time one I can tie in all my other hobbies so it’s become my favorite.
I write because I have to! I’m addicted to the written word!
And then there are the hoards of plot bunnies and idea squirrels that keep attacking me at every moment of the day and night (Back! Back I say!).
Literally, the story ideas won’t leave me alone until I write them. I love the adventures the ideas take me on. It really is addictive, and it’s an addiction I don’t want cured. I’m loving every moment of it.
J.A. Marlow
The String Weavers, Salmon Run, Redpoint One series.Writer alter-ego of Dreamers Cove
I write partly for the therapy. I walk around with tons of compulsive and anxious thoughts, and even when I’m not writing I turn these thoughts into stories. This is a creative outlet that allows me to give voice to a number of things I’d otherwise be unable to say. Writing keeps the wolves penned up.
I also write because I can’t imagine turning any other job into a career. This is what I want to do with my life, and the market has changed in the last few years to allow me to build a business out of it.
I write first to entertain myself. I don’t watch much television, don’t go to the movie — writing has become a replacement for those usual forms of entertainment. I get to create the story I want to ‘see’ and not only watch, but live the story as I create it.
I rewrite, edit, edit and edit some more to share stories with people who enjoy the same sort of things that I do. I am my ‘first reader’ and if I can’t please myself with a story, I know I’m not going to please anyone else.
I forgot about that. I tend to write for myself, too. I mean, I kind of have to or I lose the fun of the writing.
Ashe Elton Parker
"Just love me, fear me, do as I say, and I will be your slave." ~ David Bowie as Jareth in Labyrinth
~*~
Member since 1998.
~*~I have so many ideas, I wouldn’t want to keep them all cooped up in my brain. I think if I didn’t put them down on paper I would go a little crazy. My writing lets me express my anxieties and fears as well as my hopes and dreams. I have some idea that perhaps other people can relate to those things. Also, I love books, and the idea of creating books for other people to enjoy seems lovely.
I read a lot. I devour books almost as readily as I devour meals. I also dream. Every night in technocolor surround-sound. The stories, characters and worlds my mind comes up with blow away most of what I read. I write because I feel like my dreams and ideas are divine inspiration. This is my calling. It’s the only thing I ever did that felt like greatness, that brought joy both to myself and to others. I write to bring order to the chaos of my brain. I write to breath life into my mind people, because darnnit, they’re worth it. If I do nothing else in my life before I die, I’ll have my words to leave behind for my children to be proud of.
I write because it’s the biggest riot I’ve ever done in my life!
I’ve also discovered the joy of writing humour, because I like to think my stories brighten people’s days. As those who go on chat know, I’m a sucker for making jokes and puns all the time. I just like to make people laugh; there’s something fulfilling in it.
Also, writing is taking over as my prime source of entertainment. Ever since I took writing seriously, video games have turned into time sinks. When a game even goes a little bit wrong, I’m wondering why I’m wasting my time when I could be writing.
I remember my first real attempt at novel writing. I was in fifth grade, I was an avid reader, and I had already written a few shorts up to that point. (This was in ’99 when I got my first computer as well, so the possibilities were endless.) I didn’t have friends in school, and the characters I read about and created were my friends. The problem was: they came to an end too quickly. I wanted to create my own characters and make them last forever. Thus, my first real writing project, “Chillers,” was born. (To date, it is still unfinished, staying true to them lasting forever.)
Since I opened my eyes to the possibilities of writing, I’ve had flickers of ideas, characters, plot points, and more come to me. I have a terrible memory, and I can’t keep all those ideas in my head; therefore, I write.
I write to expand my imagination, to prune the dead-end thoughts, to empty my mind so I don’t get overwhelmed. I write to express my feelings and deepest desires, to work through my problems in “real life” and get a new perspective. I write to give something back that was so freely given to me and to leave my mark on this earth. I write as a path to self-acceptance.
I see so many posts from people saying that they literally HAVE to write, there is no other option for them. I wish I could say the same but it’s simply not true. In fact, I never considered being a writer of any kind until some years after I finished college. I actually started college intending to get an English degree, but changed my major because I discovered I hated doing research (WHY isn’t my opinion valid just because it’s MY OPINION???!!
)Then, on another forum, one of the other members decided to start a Writing Challenge and posted a short prompt and a few rules. It looked interesting, so I decided to go for it. There was no real prize, just the opportunity to post the prompt for the next round of competition. At first I didn’t know what to write about, but then I had a dream that was so vivid it was almost like watching a scene from a movie and that’s what I wrote about. It grew from that first scene into something more, I added characters, explored backstory, and hinted at possible drama (looking back on it now, it’s really more of a story sketch, showing lots of potential, but not really a story yet). I submitted my story and waited for the end of the competition and the other stories to be posted. Turns out only one other person actually took up the challenge. I discovered how unsatisfying it is to have my story win (because it did) when there was only one other to judge it against. But still… the seed was planted. Later that same year I discovered Nanowrimo…
To make a long story short, I write because I love stories. I always have. I’ve been an avid reader since I first learned how to read, and my idea of an excellent night out usually includes watching a movie and then talking about it after. Also, my life is pretty boring and I’m actually a pretty boring person to be around- I’m not funny except on accident, and in a group of people I’d rather listen to them than talk myself. When I write I get to be someone else, someone who goes on adventures. Someone more interesting. Someone who gets to experience larger than life things like magic and time travel and Caves of Wonder. And sometimes even the more prosaic things like being proposed to in a crowded restaurant with a lot of pomp and melodramatic flair.
I don’t have to write them. Sometimes I don’t even WANT to write them. But I enjoy it when I do it, and I like the stories I come up with and want to see them finished. I like sharing them with the other members of my writing group. I like being able to say that I’m a writer. And I’m really looking forward to the day when I can say that I’ve finished my book, and would you like to read it? I’m not there yet, but I’m working on it.
I write to find out how the story ideas running around in my head turn out.
I write because I love to write.
I write because it is impossible to even imagine not doing so.Edited to add: Actually, my imagination is better than that.
I can imagine not writing – it would be somewhat like being wrapped in a straitjacket and gagged – only worse. :sick:I’ve always been a creative person. I used to do a lot of oil painting, but when I had small children that was a difficult hobby to keep safe. So, I decided that writing would be another way to express myself. I found I loved story telling even more than I did painting. So, I’ve been doing it nearly 40 years.
–June
I am a story teller by nature, in the old school sense, where stories were intended to teach. (Or as they said in ‘Brave’ “Legends are Lessons”.) I have tales in my head and sometimes I don’t know what the legend is, much less the lesson until it is down in front of me. Sometimes those stories are songs. Sometimes they are drawings. Sometimes they are poems. Sometimes the lesson comes first and the tale unfolds around it. If I do not tell them who will? And I enjoy it. I enjoy the craftsmanship. I enjoy when someone remembers a tale I tell, whatever the medium. I enjoy verbal story telling because I can see the impact my words have and adjust the story as I go for greatest impact. I enjoy the written word because it allows more scope than a spoken attention span usually manages. I enjoy getting better at it each time.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.