Why?

[Ann, Supreme Overlord]

Here's a question for you:

Why do you write?

There are days I ask myself this over and over. I don't anticipate becoming a household name, and I'm not sure that I would want to be. Everyone second guessing every quote you make, etc.

So why do I write? For myself? If that's the case, then why go through the hassle of publishing? It's quite miserable most of the time.

What are your thoughts?

[Riley, Viking Extraordinaire]

I write because if I didn't, I would have gone insane and probably killed quite a few people.
After hurting myself, I needed an avenue to pour my energy into. I tried video games, television, books, everything. And the one thing that really helped to drive away the pain was writing. Now I look forward to everyday, considering where I'm going to take a scene. Trying to figure out whether or not something works in a plot line.
It fills my days with happiness. I write for me, that's why I write.

[Christina]

I too write to stay sane(ish). I also write because I enjoy it and the fact that others seem to enjoy what I write as well makes me happy. I enjoy creation. I'm not a great artist, but I still dabble in visual arts because I like seeing the outcome. If I had any musical talent at all I would explore this as well. Writing just happens to be the thing I do that I do well enough to share with others.

[Dianne]

When I lost my two daughters to a religious hijacking, I was so destroyed that I felt I had to try to make something good out the horror I had experienced. I thought if our story could help just one person, if my cautionary tale could be a beacon in the dark for others grappling with religion gone awry, I would be happy.

Why do I continue to write? I just love the creative process. I love stringing words together, as BB says, to have the reader feel something true, and heartfelt, and raw. Or funny. It's a connection with people I wouldn't have any other way, and I really value both the process and the connection.

[Tom]

Ann wrote: "Here's a question for you:

Why do you write?

There are days I ask myself this over and over. I don't anticipate becoming a household name, and I'm not sure that I would want to be. Everyone seco..."

I write to give back the satisfaction and emotional experience I get from reading a good book. If a book of mine can make a similar impact on somebody else then I have succeeded.

[Ann, Supreme Overlord]

Great responses everyone! I love hearing about what inspires other authors to write.

[Michael]

Why do I write? I write because I have all these stories running through my mind, and I keep hearing so many voices, each one telling me their stories. And I write because I want to entertain people, to try and make lives lives just a little better.

I write to remain sane and alive.

I'm only truly happy when I'm writing.

[Dwayne, Head of Lettuce]

Ann wrote: "Why do you write?"

There are multiple reasons when I really think about it.

1. I write for myself. I write to amuse myself, entertain myself, make some sense of the real world through my quirky and eccentric worlds.

2. I'm an introvert who deals with anxieties, depression, stress and anger. Writing is one of my coping skills. I don't like medication and have avoided it for many years. When I have had a good writing session, all the "dark" stuff seems to melt away for a while.

3. I have hopes that one day my stories will entertain people. I know that the kind of stuff I write will probably never appeal to a mass audience, but I do think there must be people out there that will appreciate it. Besides my wife, that is.

D. I am a creative person. When I was younger, I did a lot of writing, drawing, some painting, acting, playing in a band, etc. Writing was the one thing that I enjoyed the most and the one talent I have worked to develop.

5. I love language. I love words. I love word games. I love to play with words and make them dance.

VI. I love watching people, listening to how they talk and interact, how they sit, how they eat, how they deal with pressures of life. I have a lot of fun transforming all this stuff into characters. A bit of the guy I saw at the coffee shop here, a little of the girl on the bus there, some of the cashier at the grocery store... and there's a character.

Seven. Sometimes there's just nothing else to do and I hate being bored.

[Susan]

It's a fun way to entertain myself, it's a game. And trying to e-publish via Amazon is the cherry in my Manhattan.

[A.W.]

Trying to write words, the right words, is a rite of passage.

[Lorine]

I write because I hear voices in my head and they talk to me...lol. (had to throw a Randy Orton reference in there sometime) Seriously, I write as a form of relaxing. It mellows me out and takes away a lot of the crowdedness that I feel.

[Riley, Viking Extraordinaire]

I hear that Lorine.

[[deleted user]]

I write to forestall senility--or, failing that, to expose it.

[Lorine]

Thanks V.M.....lol. I have already gotten a lot of wonderful support.

[Renee]

I write because I always have. Ever since I was little I would put pencil to paper and create stories. My friends were always asking me to tell them stories. So I write because it's been a part of me for a very long time and I love to share what's in my head.

[Ann, Supreme Overlord]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who hears voices. . .It's almost like the story is running through my head and I'm just writing it down as it passes through.

[Virginia]

I write because not writing isn't an option. I write because I enjoy escaping into the stories in my head. I write so I can be an astronaut, a samurai, a mage, a dragon, a spy, a doctor, a pirate, and a wolf all without leaving my living room.

I write to make a sound in the canyon and listen for an echo.

[Zoe]

Why do I write?

I write because it's something that I've always wanted to do but told myself 'I'm not good enough'. One day I sat down and just decided to go for it. I'm in the process of publishing now which is painstaking and costly, so I tried self publishing which is equally painful. Why? Because the feeling I get when I see someone paid for something that a wrote is just priceless. You're right. I doubt I will ever become an international best seller and survive on my writing millions. But I do what I do because I like it. It makes me feel all full of emotion.

[Lorine]

Ann wrote: "I'm glad I'm not the only one who hears voices. . .It's almost like the story is running through my head and I'm just writing it down as it passes through."

Honestly, sometimes i find myself talking back and my husband will ask "who are you talking to?" and i reply the voices in my head. Then he just stares and walks off.....lol

[Denise]

I only hear the voices when I'm actually writing. I'm still writing because I've tried to quit several times, and I always come back to it. It's the ultimate zen, the one thing that I do that makes time stand still, or move fast. Whatever. I lose track of time when I'm writing. And it's so much fun to read through later, when I can't believe that I'm the one that wrote the words. I guess it's those voices.

[R.W.]

I write because imagination activates way too easily. Perhaps learning to play chess around 8 early age wasn't such a good idea (LOL), because it's too easy to get ahead in movies, television, fiction.... You know the feeling that you already know what's going to happen. That makes me want to tell my own story - something that's not run of the mill.

[Shelby]

I wrote for awareness! My memoir was to shed light on what families face/endure/overcome in a tragic situation. I decided to write, in hopes, that a difference will be made through my words. I currently write for a column on a site, but I am not sure if I will write a book again- maybe, if I feel that the need arises :)

[Lorena]

I write for myself, but also to communicate to an invisible kindred audience. I am going through the publishing process right now, a grind! But the desire to communicate, to reach people, and have them respond is central to this activity of writing. At least for me.

[[deleted user]]

I was writing in my early teens and came back to it when no-one could stop me. It possibly doesn't pay to over-analyse the urge. It is insane to sit at a type writer for many hours. There can be no rational financial motivation either, as the vast majority of books don't sell. Maybe, I think, it is an urge to say, 'I was here'.

Way back a few humans had the urge to stop gnawing a bone long enough to dab their hand in a coloured solution and make impressions on a cave wall. At least they had the advantage of a rock medium that might survive.

Books are not the best medium to leave a mark on posterity. They end up in landfill. How many house clearances have you seen where all those cherished books are thrown away? As for digital books, those will survive only as long as the servers storing them and a compatible reading technology. I read that experts predict the whole digital record of the 20th century might be lost down the line. A modern day dark age.

'I am here,' is as good a reason as any. Couple this to a desire for a world that's just and fair and makes sense. The criminal mind does not seem to aspire to write fiction. Criminals who keep diaries live to regret it. Maybe writing is the decent mind's way of tidying up the bedroom: imposing fictional order on messy reality. Or maybe writers are just grubby little capitalists. I'm off to find some reviewers...

[Dianne]

I laughed out loud at your last sentence, Paddy. Yes, the whole "art" of being a writer has been transformed in the last decade or so from the very difficult task of writing something that's really good to writing and hawking your product, nudging reviewers, being involved in social media.

When my hardback was published in 2003, there was no need to worry about how many reviews you had on Amazon -- now it's a part of what's "crucial" to making your book "successful," at least financially. Tolstoy would roll over in his grave...

[Rosalind]

Paddy, your comments made me smile. And I really like the 'I am here' explanation.

Just before I published my book (which is in the first person and about very personal experiences and emotions) an acquaintance asked if I was worried about 'going public' with it all. I replied that, in all honesty, I wasn't worried. I was trying to think of a grand way of describing why.. and couldn't think how to put it (there's a reason I'm a writer and not someone who has to always think on their feet!). "Because you've got something to say?" he suggested.
A succinct, truthful summing up of why I write, which I've used a few times since!

In addition it feels healthy to have a creative outlet, and extremely satisfying to go from blank pages to a finished book, overcoming obstacles/frustrations/one's sanity being sorely tested etc along the way.

[Anchal]

Rosalind, I relate to your 'going public' statement. It was a thought that consumed me a lot before my book got published but ever since its not been disturbing.

Why do I write???
I write since its a peaceful outlet. It unleashes the emotions within and let them pour out in a manner that talking doesn't. I articulate better, I am more in control and clear of thoughts and best of all, I love the fact that i can craft beautiful sentences. Any amount of explaining cannot do justice to the reason i write. So i will leave it here.

Having said that, I love some of the reasons others have. They are beautiful and encouraging. makes me want to think if I connect with it. A beautiful and insightful thread to an Author's mind.

[Charles]

Dwayne wrote: "Ann wrote: "Why do you write?"

There are multiple reasons when I really think about it.

1. I write for myself. I write to amuse myself, entertain myself, make some sense of the real world through..."

I write for similar reasons. I have a lot going on in my head sometimes that I can't exactly convey the way I want through verbal communication, but have no problem putting down in text.

I write because it feels good. The process is intense and focused, it draws me in and consumes me. The afterglow is phenomenal.

I write because before I did, I was always morbidly depressed.

[Ann, Supreme Overlord]

So for those of you who write for emotional and sanity reasons, do you treat writing as a type of therapy? Just curious because I always have.

[Marianne]

I write because I have always felt the urge to find the write words to describe things. And because I have a lifelong passion for books and reading. And because I never felt heard growing up, so the blank page became my best friend.

[Ann, Supreme Overlord]

Blank pages are so full of potential aren't they?

[Ann, Supreme Overlord]

So eloquent V.M. :)

[R.W.]

I am with Denise. I mean I look at my novel now and can't believe I wrote it. I see all the finer details and nuances within the story and can't believe it.

[Lorine]

Ann wrote: "So for those of you who write for emotional and sanity reasons, do you treat writing as a type of therapy? Just curious because I always have."

I certainly do because i have to quiet the voices somehow otherwise they keep my brain going all night and i will not be able to quiet them.

[Riley, Viking Extraordinaire]

Actually Ann, I see it as a form of meditation. Everything and everyone melts away while my fingers are flying, there's nothing but me and my imagination running wild.

[Anchal]

Riley..I think that's such a wonderful way of putting things...Meditation! Pure and deep...

[Dwayne, Head of Lettuce]

Ann wrote: "So for those of you who write for emotional and sanity reasons, do you treat writing as a type of therapy? Just curious because I always have."

Definitely. There have been times in my past where I felt extremely depressed and writing has helped me come out of it. Depression doesn't hit me as hard these days, but I do feel stressed a lot. Again, writing is a good outlet to help me get grounded again and work my way through whatever is stressing me out.

[Michael]

Ann wrote: "So for those of you who write for emotional and sanity reasons, do you treat writing as a type of therapy? Just curious because I always have."

Very much so. I have a deep-seated self-destructive streak that I keep at bay because I have all these stories to tell. And I'm only truly happy when I'm writing.

[Andrew]

I just do, really. And I always have.

And for many years, huge amounts of my stuff were written for me and me alone, or just emailed round a very small group of close friends to entertain them. Even once I'd started posting fan fiction and things on Usenet, I'd still have other stuff that was kept locked up on my hard drive.

I have treated writing as therapy in the past, but to be honest it didn't really help me. Or I don't think it did.

All I can honestly say is that any day when I go to bed having written something, even if it's just a drabble or a couple of hundred words from a WIP, I go to bed happy. And any day when I haven't written anything, on some level I think of it as a day wasted.

[Dino]

Charles wrote: "Dwayne wrote: "Ann wrote: "Why do you write?"

There are multiple reasons when I really think about it.

1. I write for myself. I write to amuse myself, entertain myself, make some sense of the rea..."

I write to tell a compelling story with humor and respect each sentence by giving it the power of a smile or just wordy rhythm.

[Tina]

I'm surprised that nobody seems to want to enlighten readers, give them something to think about. Maybe it's because you write fiction while I write biographies. It's another tough nut to work out why anybody would want to write biographies, but I do. Interesting people that I have discovered - complete strangers. I certainly want to enlighten.

[[deleted user]]

Tina wrote: "I'm surprised that nobody seems to want to enlighten readers, give them something to think about. Maybe it's because you write fiction while I write biographies. It's another tough nut to work out ..."

To say that we want to "enlighten" readers has a tinge of arrogance about it. It would seem to assume that we're all knowing, all seeing, while our readers are waiting to hear the message from "on high." I write Science Fiction, and most of my readers are already intelligent enough to think for themselves. If I give them something to think of beyond what they already know, it's gravy.

[Deborah]

I write my books (nonfiction) because I want the stories of the past that I tell/discover to be around for future generations. I have spent many years doing research and I don't want what I have discovered to disappear and be forgotten.

[Tina]

Ken links enlightenment to arrogance and there is a grain of truth in what he says. However, we do not think that schoolteachers are arrogant for wanting our children to know more. So why should this thirst for knowledge that children naturally have - something that society encourages - disappear when they grow up? As a person interested in current affairs, I often curse the media for feeding us the same old stories about the economy, MPs, health care, instead of telling us about the big wide world. This is why I want to enlighten people with my biographies. And Deborah has made a good point too: we do need to think of what we leave of the past for future generations.

[[deleted user]]

Tina wrote: "Ken links enlightenment to arrogance and there is a grain of truth in what he says. However, we do not think that schoolteachers are arrogant for wanting our children to know more. So why should th..."

I didn't link enlightenment, or the teaching of children, to arrogance, but it's open for debate. If a person seeks enlightenment because he/she is aware of his/her shortcomings and wants to expand, the "enlightener" in such a case isn't acting out of arrogance. It's the difference between a person always giving unwanted advice and one who gives it when asked. If a fiction writer is writing to enlighten, then the message given in the story is probably overwrought. A subtle message on the same subject allows the reader to come to his/her own conclusions.

[P.D.]

I'll admit to writing to enlighten readers. Absolutely. I have a lot of reasons for writing, but that is a big part of it.

I want to understand why people act the way they do and do the things that they do, and writing is one (extremely enjoyable) way I dig down into people's experience and motives to work that out. And I want to share it with others in a way that interests and entertains them and also enlightens them as it has me.

When I get reviews like this, I know I am on the right track:

"P.D. Workman has a wonderful gift and some of her books could very well help us all to see things about the mental health care system and the foster care system are not always what we think they are."

"This story also gives insight on how quickly and easily it can be for a "good" kid to get on the wrong path and how hard it can/would be to get back on the right path. Truly a thought-provoking book!"

"I am honestly at a loss for words and smiling like crazy!! This book was so heartbreaking at some moments that I thought I would cry. But thank God there was a happy ending! This is truly one of the best books I have ever read."

[Tina]

Thank you, P.D. I don't write fiction - so far only biography - but when I read novels I tend to like those that 'teach' me something, that enlighten me. Maybe it's about a country I don't know or a new way of looking at an aspect of life. I don't want to experience everything myself but I may be curious enough to want to read about it. This is why I'm interested in this discussion of why writers write. Do they write for themselves or do they sometimes think of me, the reader?

[P.D.]

I have to admit that it's for myself first, but the reader does figure into the equation!

[Zoe]

Hi, I'm a new author on here and your group seemed a lot of fun! I write because I'm a typically shyer person. I get a lot of tangled up problems, emotions, etc. out in my writing. I also write because I just enjoy it.

I also do figure my readers into my equation, most of the readers (whom I have met and talked to) went through the same problems as I did and really relate to the book. I feel a lot more connected to the readers in that sense. :)

Also I was wondering are any of you attending the LA Times Festival of Books (April 18-19)? I will be there and it would be fun to meet some fellow authors!

[Riley, Viking Extraordinaire]

Zoe wrote: "Hi, I'm a new author on here and your group seemed a lot of fun! I write because I'm a typically shyer person. I get a lot of tangled up problems, emotions, etc. out in my writing. I also write bec..."

Unfortunately, no Zoe, I wish I could say I was though, because I love meeting new people.