Why do you write?
This is a question I ask myself on a regular basis. Any activity you spend eight to ten hours a day doing is worth a little bit of reflection, now and again. After all, if I were able to go to a job every day and do tedious and unfulfilling tasks until quitting time, I’d be doing it instead of writing. I left the IT field precisely because I couldn’t find any purpose or joy in what I did.
Still, if freelance writing is to be a suitable replacement for fixing networks, I’ve got to ask myself: Why write?
There are several reasons I write.
I write because I enjoy it.
It’s not the banging on the keyboard itself that I enjoy. It’s the production process. I love watching an idea gestate, grow, and finally be birthed on the screen. No matter that it’s not always my idea; I get to be a midwife of sorts to other people’s ideas. And that’s pretty cool.
I write because I learn in the process.
On a daily basis I get to learn about anything from postpartum depression to how to change your car’s tires to politics.
You see, I’m a student, and I always will be. I went back to school at 32 years old to get my Master’s degree in Humanities. I enjoy learning about nearly any subject I can. In particular, I’m interested in human nature, human history, and the human condition. Writing lets me explore those things in a way that a 9 to 5 job never did.
I write because I want to make a difference.
Not everything I write is especially useful to a large crowd of people. However, if the occasional article on defensive driving helps prevent an accident, or if an article about prenatal vitamins helps convince a pregnant woman about the importance of folic acid, I’m tickled.
Heck, I even like to think I make a difference right here. If something I write inspires someone in their writing career, it’s all worth it to me.
I write because I’m good at it.
I don’t say that to brag or boast. I’m a good writer because I’ve worked diligently to become one. I don’t think I have more innate talent as a writer than the next person. I do think I’ve spent years honing my craft. I’m to the place now where my clients know good work when they see it, and they keep coming back. This means my business continues to grow, and I continue to experience more and more success.
There are more reasons, but I’d rather hear from you than go into them just yet. Maybe they’ll come out in the comments. Tell me, what about you? Why do you write?
photo credit: rachaelvoorhees
14 comments ↓
I suppose that I write because that’s just who I am.
I’m not talking about the soul-searching sort of writer either, the kind who burns to write. Sure, there are times when the passion to write overcomes me, but I find that I do my best writing when I’m just being myself and letting the thoughts flow naturally.
Although, now that I’ve said it, the sun is setting behind the pines and the sky is the most beautiful shade of blue. The wavering branches of the sycamore that towers over the neighborhood have turned yellow. The cicadas and the crickets complete the symphony of the day, while I wait for the bats to arrive…
Or something like that.
Jamie Grove - How Not To Writes last blog post..A Writer’s Choice
I write for all the reasons you listed. And because I have to. I’ve always had to. It’s the way I’m wired. It’s the way that I best express myself although sometimes my fingers can’t quite keep up with my thoughts. And as Jamie said, it’s just who I am.
Miz Lizs last blog post..Wednesday Bubble - For $$$, You CAN Iron Out Those Wrinkles!
Like you, I write because I like it. I love words. And language. And finding new ways to play with and explore the two. I like being able to make people say things far more intelligent or witty than I could ever say.
I write because I’ve always told stories. When I was younger, I would tell the stories with pictures, or act things out with my toys. Then I started to write the stories down, and I’ve been doing it ever since.
And, I write in the hopes that I can inspire just one other person to pick up the pencil and put their thoughts on paper.
Dans last blog post..Four on the Floor #17: Not Your Typical Dashing Heroes
I write because I want to help others, and because I want to leave something behind to look back on. Give’s me someting to gauge myself on how I’m doing in life, what I’m learning, what mistakes I’ve made, etc etc. And if someone else can learn from my mistakes, all the better!
Bens last blog post..Book of Job: Funny In a Certain Light
I write because it helps me become a better thinker.
To have great ideas in ones mind is important. But to put it on paper in a persuasive manner; that’s something special.
And that’s why I write.
Bamboo Forests last blog post..7 Reasons Finger Traps are Glorious
I write because I’m in love with words and thought and the way they can all pour like water from a spigot. I love that words can inspire change, and that those who can assemble them the best are those that change the world. Thank you for a wonderful site.
I have different reasons. I write for myself to process and make sense of my experience.
I write for others to connect with them - hopefully in a more than superficial way. I hope, via blogging and related things, I can make my living doing this.
I started writing because I hated talking. I was in my middle teen back then and trying to express something by speaking was totally dreadful. I try to develop my writing skill to compensate my inability to talk and got addicted to it somewhere. Thank goodness I grew out of that phase and learned to improve my speaking. But writing is still my favorite way of communicating.
Simply because, after all these years and words, I can’t “not” write. I think it may be an affliction, or a condition (only sort of kidding).
I go into “writing mode” very easily. Something will happen, someone will say something odd that sticks in my head, and the next thing I know the synapses are firing and I’m off to the races. The only way to stop it is to write it down.
I literally think about and work with my writing from sunup to sundown, despite having a full time day job (yep, fixing networks - well, now IT Director… but still).
It’s a part of me. One of my first published works was a poem, back in the 1980s (yep, I’m old). In that poem I suggested that it was the writer’s gift to see things a bit more clearly, to understand the strings behind the puppets like some sort of weird cosmic receiver. It is also the writer’s curse, because no matter how clearly you see it, you never QUITE capture it when you go to recreate it…you can’t really share your gift, only it’s reflection.
DNW
It’s about time you posted again Bob.
John Hewitts last blog post..A Career in Technical Writing: Amanda
@ Jamie - I’m with you. My best writing tends to be nearly stream-of-consciousness.
@ Miz Liz - I agree that writing becomes part of a writer’s identity. There’s something existential, deep inside, that compels us, isn’t there?
@ Dan - I like what you’re saying here. The deconstructionists have it all wrong; language does have meaning and value, and words do have their own content.
@ Ben - That’s a good part of what I do here at The Writing Journey. I want to help others achieve their dreams by learning from my mistakes.
@ Bamboo - There’s something about writing that makes us sharper, isn’t there? Not that writers are better thinkers, per se, but rather that the exercise of writing keeps the brain juices flowing.
@ Writer dad - You’re welcome. I’m glad to have you on the site. I like what you’re saying about changing the world. Sure, there is a place for action - words without deeds are nearly meaningless - but the words must come first.
@ Evan - There’s a living to be made, to be sure. Keep at it. Keep honing your craft, and learn from others. You’ll get there.
@ Vekin - Many of the best writers are terribly introverted. I, too, prefer writing as a means of communication. It allows for a precision that speech too often doesn’t.
@ DNW - I like that: writing as a condition or affliction.
@ John - Thank you. Glad to know you were out there waiting. You’ll be glad to know I’ve got 2 more scheduled posts in the hopper, too!
Thank you all for your comments. A special welcome to you first-time commentors. Make sure to come back again soon. I absolutely love meeting other writers and making new friends via this blog.
Bob, I write for all of the reasons you listed. Sometimes I write because it connects me to my ideas, my purpose, my truth. At other times I write to solve, reflect, turn over, dissect and learn. And still at other times I write just because I can.
Karen Swims last blog post..Hitting the Pause Button
@ Karen - “because I can” - I like that one. Very nice.
Okay, I’m late to the party, but I found this blog via the Top 10 Blogs for Writers and started browsing the archives, hunting for motivation on this Monday morning. And I stumbled across this.
To be honest, I haven’t thought much about why I write. At least, not lately. A lot of times it feels like slamming my head into a brick wall, especially when I’ve got to go shoehorn 7 more awkward keywords into a 500-word article.
But every time I get really drained, and I feel like I am going to just crash and burn, I look to a MySpace blog post I wrote two years ago.
I had just started National Novel Writing Month, and I had driven to the nearest bookstore (30 minutes away from my tiny hometown) to sit in their cafe and write. I wound up writing for four hours and easily hit 8,000 words, my goal for that session.
I was so in the moment while I was writing and so jazzed when I got home, that I posted a blog just trying to capture my excitement.
It may not be the only reason that I write, but that feeling, that sheer joy of telling a story, of being in the moment with your characters, is probably the biggest reason.
Leave a Comment