How dared you write a book?

[Nik]

Every second person probably has an idea for a book. Although there are thousands of indie and trad authors, still most people manage to wave away this silly idea. Really, who has time for such a lengthy project, confidence in own writing skills and plot idea? Besides, the notion that there is usually no money in writing starts to spread...
For those who did see it through though, which is an accomplishment in itself, what convinced you to go all the way?

[Leonie]

I'd been thinking about it for twenty years. In the end, you never know if you can do it, unless you try. Once I'd got started, I really needed to finish, and then all the other ideas kept coming. So now I have a pile of them to write.

[Graeme]

Similar to Leonie.

Hit a point in my life where I wanted to focus on achieving something that came from within myself, rather than responding to the needs of others or the necessities of circumstance.

Before it was too late.

For me now - writing is an obsession.

[Matthew]

I actually started writing to overcome my dyslexia. When I was promoted to management and needed to learn the art of written communication I was terrified. Writing really helped me slay my demons!

Once I got started I fell in love with it, so here I am :-)

[Holly]

As an avid reader, there were certain stories I wanted to read that I could never find in books. I decided to write them for myself and I've had so much fun doing it. I am working on. three very different series; so I will write a big chunk in one series, then stop and catch up on the other series. I have time in between to switch from writer to reader mode and see everything with a fresh eye.

[Graeme]

cool stories

[[deleted user]]

I started writing because I love writing and because I had so many ideas in my head that I had to find a way to circulate and expand them.

[J.N.]

"Fortune and glory, kid. Fortune and glory!"
-- Indiana Jones, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

For me, it was for fun. I enjoy telling stories. Writing allows me to give them a greater permanence.

[[deleted user]]

Mine started as FanFictions and then my original ideas started piling in from daydreaming and dreams. I have them written. Some I've been editing.

[Victoria]

Good question. 'Daring' to do it is exactly right.

I've wanted to write since I was a small child. Various other things got in the way - education, earning a living, but the idea was always there at the back of my mind. Eventually I thought I really did need to set about it properly. Among other things, I made some friends who were writers. They were all getting on and getting published, so I thought I should stop talking about wanting to be a writer and get on with it. I finished up some stuff and put it out on Kindle.

[Ian]

I never even considered it until, back in my student days, a couple of young women said I couldn't (after one of those arts/science debates). So I did. It wan't any good, especially the start, but when I viewed it again somewhat later in life I realised I knew what was horribly wrong with it, so I tried again. No need to tell me my writing is still horrible :-)

[Philip]

Childhood stories at school with day dreaming and wishful thinking- my art was hidden whilst I pursued a primarily technical working life with a little bit of music on the side. Then a sudden frustration with everything I was reading and watching leading to the prideful (see 7 deadly sins) belief that I could do better.

This was soon hammered into realisation that regardless of the merits of my writing (D- at best) getting anyone to read it (even family and friends) requires effort, luck, goodwill (Goodreads an added bonus) and a good story.

[Nik]

And how dared YOU?

[Ian]

Firstly, to see if I could.

I've always been a visual artist, but a painting is a snapshot from one perspective and can only go so far. I had a scene I wanted to convey more deeply and the written word allowed me to explore more depth and dimension than I could in a painting. It then became a challenge to see if I could expand that scene into a whole novel.

That one never reached completion, but the next one did, and the two after that. Now it's a satisfying creative outlet.

[Terence]

What convinced me to write a book?

I'd been keeping ideas and story fragments for years. In 2009 I was unemployed and convinced I'd have to find another way of earning a living. The was a cut price piece of software on my shelf called Novel Writer Standard (from Avanquest). I decided to give it a proper go. The first target was to writer three chapters; in three weeks I had 8,000 words. By that point the ideas had started to flow, the rest was the long, slow, uphill crawl to the light. I'm not there yet; still learning (and I still haven't found that job).

[Matthew]

Well, I had an idea that I thought would work, so I made a point of writing it out and sharing it with as many interested parties as possible. Not much more to say that that, really.