Why Do You Write?

As part of the National Day on Writing, and the National Writing Project's "Why I Write" campaign, we asked NaNoWriMo staff and interns to think about their own reasons for writing.

Why do you write? Take part in the conversation:

Answer in the comments.
Answer on our Facebook page.
Answer on Twitter with the hashtag #whyiwrite. (Tweet @NaNoWriMo, and we'll retweet our favorite ideas!)

Tim, Office Captain: I write because it helps me learn. Creating characters, and stories, and incidents—it's an exercise in wondering, "Maybe the world works like this. Or like this."

Sarah, Community Liaison: I write because I love words, and finding that perfect turn of phrase makes me feel like a genius, if only for a moment. I write because sometimes, the story tumbles out of my fingers faster than my brain can keep up with, and I surprise myself even as I put the words down on the page. I write because for all the suffering it takes to get to that point, there is no feeling in the world like when your story finally clicks.

Lindsey, Program Director: I write because so many things are better read than said. Misunderstandings are too easy in spoken communication; we talk so much and so fast and with so many interruptions! Writing is a haven where I may sit with a concept, clarifying here and editing there, until I can stand back and say, "Here. This is exactly what I mean."

Chris B., Executive Director: I write because I love making people laugh, and the written word is an unbeatable joke-delivery device. I write because conjuring sentences and stories still seems like magic to me, and I don't get many other opportunities to feel like a magician. Mostly I write because I want to find out what happens next.

Max, Intern: I write because once something is written down, I can move on. Writing and printing a story is giving a memory a place in the world.

Emily, ML Captain of Capital Ideas: I write because my mother read to me when I was little, and because of the magic worlds I inhabited when I could read for myself. At our house people read everywhere—you stepped over them to get up the stairs. Words are seeds that grow into stories—neat garden rows and wild jungles of the imagination. By writing, I discover things I didn't know I knew—not just forgotten facts, but truths about the human condition. I write for love, enjoyment, escape—and the sheer joy of it.

Paige, Intern: You know that second when you're reading a book, and something clicks? It can be something you realize about the world, or about how people work, or about yourself, or even about the peculiarities of being a giraffe… I write for that split second. I write because there are so many important emotions and ideas, and they need to be shared. I write to connect. I write in the hope that my words will have an impact—some sort of meaningful repercussion within a reader's soul or mind.

Heather, Forums Moderator: I write because I don't have a choice. I've always got these stories in my head, and they tend to drive me crazy if I don't get them out! Dreams become nightmares, other things start growing wings and flying away… but writing them down excises them. Now, I have more motivation for writing: my children. I have two little girls who love stories, and are always asking me for more. This way, I don't have to buy new books… I can just tell them a new story!

Chris A., YWP Director: I wish I could just borrow Joan Didion's wonderful answer, but that would contradict my own reason: I write to say something that hasn't been said before—or at least, not quite the way I would put it. On better days, I write to interest and amuse myself; on the best days, because I think I can interest and amuse others. Also, to appease the hellhounds.

Ari, Intern: Writing is a huge exercise in delayed gratification. My gut reaction is to say that I write because it's fun, but in the moment of writing, nothing could be less fun. I'm stressed out, anxious, and I can't make up my mind about anything. But in the end—after the adverbs are pared away, characters are revised, and I've labored over the story from first sentence to last—I've created something that I love. And being able to declare "I made this" is the most satisfying feeling of all. 

Photo by Flickr user anotherpioneer