Goodreads asked Bill Gourgey:

What’s the best thing about being a writer?

Bill Gourgey Here’s a countdown of the top ten reasons why I write:

10. The page doesn’t talk back. (But sometimes it does have that chilling blank stare.)

9. My pen (keyboard) actually does what I ask. (Be careful what you ask for!)

8. Along with a prominent Do Not Disturb sign (which is as essential to a writer as a word processor), writing provides good cover for catching a few Z’s. (But that’s not the way to make dreams come true.)

7. I can make things up without being accused of making things up. (As they say, if you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with…)

6. Words are the best kind of friends, always ready to play. (But too much of a good thing…)

5. I’ve been told I can’t think on my feet, so I compensate by thinking on my butt. (I just hope that when I write, I'm not making an ass of myself.)

4. Writing is the only profession with a respectable excuse for slacking off. (Whoever heard of Accountant’s Block?)

3. Since I can’t afford therapy, I write. (But I'd be sure to go insane if I ever tried to calculate the opportunity cost buried in revisions.)

2. Since I’m a wimp, writing allows me to exact revenge on reviled relatives and frenemies without fear of reprisal. (As long as I don’t forget the “This is a work of fiction” disclaimer on that copyright page!)

And the number one reason why I write (drum roll):
1. Writing is the best soul food around. (But eating your words is not recommended.)

Perhaps this old Latin proverb captures best what motivates me most: verba volant, scripta manent. In other words, being mortal (and more painfully aware of it every year), it’s nice to think I might leave behind something that could stand the test of time. So, I write.

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