Why We Write

I hear people expound on how hard it is to write. There’s this mysterious malady called writer’s block, and trolls who trash writing lurk on the internet. I guess that’s true, but we can choose not to dwell on the negatives. If we want to enjoy writing as a career, we should remind ourselves daily as to why we’re doing it in the first place. If it’s to gain popularity and acceptance, then all those troll comments are going to sting. If we’re doing it for the money, there’s a good chance we’ll be disappointed – at least to start with.

Our “why” is what will keep us writing – if it’s strong enough. I’ve wondered why I’ve never experienced writer’s block nor run out of ideas and concluded that I’ve prepared myself for a writing career for 50 years. No matter what gets in the way, I’m sure as hell not going to give up now! My “why” is enormous and flattens everything in my path.

So, why do I write? I do it because I want to fire the imaginations of others by sharing how it feels to experience the mystical. I want to be able to transmit my feelings of profound perplexity when holes get poked in my world by entities from elsewhere or perhaps from a dimension that is millimetres from our own.

Writing is a powerful tool to communicate ideas with those we’ll never meet. Although it’s both an opportunity and a responsibility for those of us who choose to become authors, perhaps we should worry less about negative feedback and just enjoy the process of writing. We’re all free when we take pen in hand or sit in front of a keyboard. Don’t worry so much about the rules. It’s only a story, after all. Relax. Nobody’s going to die.

We authors create worlds for the purpose of sharing them with others. Remember to enjoy the process!

Deborah Kane