Why Write?

Asking yourself why you want to write is an exercise that's been suggested to me in both Writing Fiction for Dummies as well as How to Think Sideways. It's not a simple answer.

I want to write because:

I enjoy telling stories, and I enjoy sharing stories with other people. There is a special joy that comes when your writing is read, and appreciated. I've been writing stories as far back as elementary school. I continued writing through high school and college, but it was always something that would come and go. It is only very recently that I've gotten serious about it, and started studying it.

I want to write because:

I've got all these story ideas. My current Idea Box, a Scrivener Project where I jot down ideas, has 20 entries. They aren't all fully fleshed out, but each one is the spark of an idea I could use. They run the gamut: Christian, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Historical, Mystery. I want to get those stories out, and have them read and enjoyed.

I want to write because:

I would like influence how people see the world. It is impossible to write without your own views of the world coming through in the way the story is told. Books have had a powerful influence on me. In high school, I was influenced by a series of adventure novels where the characters were setting up their own little country*. During college, it was reading Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead that impacted my thinking. More recently, the Left Behind series has challenged the way I look at the world. I would love it for someone to read a story I wrote and reconsider the way they have viewed the subject matter.

I want to write because:

I’ve been told I’ve got some talent. Now its up to me to develop that talent and see where it can take me. I don’t want to look back and wonder “What if?”

I want to write because:

I love the schedule. I’ve always wanted a job where I could work different hours. As a night owl, the early morning has never been a good time for me. I always knew whatever my 8’oclock class was, it was going to be a struggle because my brain just isn’t engaged at that hour. I would struggle to get up and be late which didn’t help. I’d love more freedom in my schedule. My kids are growing up, and having the ability to tailor my schedule around theirs sounds like a dream. I know it may take several years to even get to the point where I can have the writers schedule, and I may never get there, but it is a powerful motivator for me.

That’s why I want to be a writer.

(* - The name of the series escapes me at the moment. It was set in a post apocalyptic USA and the main character carried around a Tommy Gun. One of the supporting characters fancied himself after Wild Bill Hickock. I asked the internet, but it wasn’t much help. I hereby reserve the right to come back and edit this entry when and if I remember the series.)

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