Goodreads asked Winston Smallwood:

What’s the best thing about being a writer?

Winston Smallwood There are a couple of different answers I can speak on.

The first is a writer of essays. To be fair, I've never published one of my essays, and I probably won't. Not in their current form at any rate. And frankly, I don't even know if an "essay" is fair to say. I suspect what I have written is more like a diary or a blog, but it wasn't a daily activity.

I mostly wrote on things that I spent some time thinking about. Basically, it was an exercise I practiced for as long as I can remember which helped me to formulate my thoughts and to really explore subjects. I wanted to know what I knew. For this, I think the best part about that is just figuring out who I am. And I think for any writer, that is one of the more important, if not the most important, qualities to have.

For long fiction [novels] I think the sense of accomplishment is the best part. To be fair, I've only written one thus far, and it's been pretty recent. So, I'm still flying on that cloud a little bit.

You know, it's not something you regularly encounter. You ask someone, "What do you do?" For the longest time, I didn't have much to answer with. And even while I was writing the book, I might say, "I write." The next question would always follow, "Oh, really? What have you written?" And then I would say the inevitable, "Well, I haven't released anything yet..." And then their attention would drift away. I got used to it.

But now, I have the answer. I've written a novel--one that I am proud of. Not just in the fact that I did it, but that I did the best I could do up to this point. And it is released. And, that makes me feel good as a person. I've contributed--you know? It's something I will never be ashamed for having done. When I look to the future of my career, I can look at a project and I can say, "I can do that." It's not so scary or impossible anymore.

In the end, if I had to give one solid answer, the best part is the opportunity to express to someone something new in a way they've never read it or heard it. To provide for them if only a moment where they stop and think about things differently and appreciate something new. To bring a little joy in someone's life. It makes me feel good, not just as a writer, but as a person. It makes me a better person. It makes me want to be better. And that's a quality I just could never put a price on.

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