Do you *really* have a why?
Leo Rosten said:
"The only reason for being a professional writer is that you just can't help it."
When I saw this quote, I totally got it. How many times have I sat in a class where we were told to contemplate our “why” and get it down in writing? When it comes to my writing, I’ve failed every time. I write because I write. I just can’t help myself. Ideas, stories, messages come to me unbidden, and I must write them and get them out into the world. They blaze inside me and won’t set me free until they are.
Not all writers feel that way, so if you can’t relate, that’s OK. But if you can, don’t feel bad the next time some guru asks you what your why is and you can’t articulate it, either. Sometimes, there isn’t one to articulate in the first place because our why is an integral part of our existence. It would make no more sense than to ask us, “Why do you breathe?”
"The only reason for being a professional writer is that you just can't help it."
When I saw this quote, I totally got it. How many times have I sat in a class where we were told to contemplate our “why” and get it down in writing? When it comes to my writing, I’ve failed every time. I write because I write. I just can’t help myself. Ideas, stories, messages come to me unbidden, and I must write them and get them out into the world. They blaze inside me and won’t set me free until they are.
Not all writers feel that way, so if you can’t relate, that’s OK. But if you can, don’t feel bad the next time some guru asks you what your why is and you can’t articulate it, either. Sometimes, there isn’t one to articulate in the first place because our why is an integral part of our existence. It would make no more sense than to ask us, “Why do you breathe?”
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