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| Photo credit: DaveAustria.com on Flickr |
Assuming that most of you reading this are writers or readers who enjoy reading writing blogs, I'm sure many of you have on more than one occasion come across a post detailing all the downsides of being a writer. Hell, you may have even read some of those posts here, because I like to be realistic when talking about the whole writing thing.
But sometimes when the days are particularly hard, or when you have more than a handful of rejections sitting in your inbox, or you look at your writing and wonder why you're even bothering to attempt to write, we writers need a little reminder as to why we embarked upon this writing journey to begin with. Sometimes we forget why we ever wanted to be writers to begin with, why we tell others we love to write so much, why we subject ourselves to rejection after rejection or an assortment of other disappointments that invariably come with the territory. Sometimes we need to take the time to remember why we love to write.
For me, the answer lies in the characters. I never tire of falling in love with new characters and watching them grow and change. I never get bored watching them interact with each other—whether it's a page of witty dialogue or an argument that ends badly. There's something truly incredible about creating characters people care about, and writing a story people want to read, and devising a world with just words that continues to fascinate me.
There's something about creating something out of nothing that I absolutely love, and it gets me time and time again, manuscript after manuscript.
You guys, we writers have the coolest job on the planet: we pull characters and entire worlds from our imaginations and release them to the world for others to see and expand upon. And we do it all with combinations of letters and our minds.
And if you ask me, that's pretty darn cool. And I'll always love it.
Join the discussion! Why do you love writing or reading other people's writing?
I think I love writing because it represents a challenge to my brain and I do love challenges. Not just to bring a story but to execute it right, to create the characters, to appeal the reader. Lots of obstacles and the satisfaction of overcoming them in the process. I truly enjoy that.
ReplyDeleteWriting allows me to express myself in a way nothing else does. I can create entire worlds with nothing but my imagination. I can take readers on a journey, have them fall in love with characters, and face ups and downs page-after-page. What could be better than that?
ReplyDeleteI daydream so much, and writing gives me the chance to "glue" those daydreams to paper. I think I love writing the most when I get a scene down that just feels phenomenal, or when I write a piece of prose that makes me snigger maniacally at my own brilliance, or when I write a strand of dialogue that just works and feels natural. All I can say is: The Lake Scene.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good question that I sometimes struggle answering myself - not because I don't love writing enough, but because it's hard to pinpoint WHY I love it. It could be the characters, or it could be the creating of something new, or it could be my way of creating stories I'd love to read. So that's my answer: I have no idea. Maybe the best bit is trying to figure it out :)
ReplyDeleteSuch a cute topic for V-day :3 You pretty much nailed my reasons. We literally have the most awesome, it's-a-crime-to-get-paid-for-it job on the planet. Because even if we don't get paid, we still love it. I can't imagine doing anything more magical than that.
ReplyDeleteThat's a really interesting image about gluing daydreams to paper. I'd never really thought of it that way.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's all of the above? :)
ReplyDeleteThat's a great way of looking at it. Writing (particularly novel writing) creates more than a couple challenges along the way and I can definitely see how overcoming them could become a favorite part of the process. :)
ReplyDeleteAgreed! Few things beat that, IMO.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Margaret! I thought it was a fun and different V-day topic.
ReplyDeleteAs for the being paid thing, I couldn't agree more. I recently told a family member that the getting paid bit of being published is a bonus because I happily continue writing without it.
Writing is the only way to preserve everything you think. Ideas, dreams or simply random things we see can be blended and shaped. I've always seen writing as something natural, a need to express things and put them safe somewhere. Plus writing is history, not text book one, but a personal one. You can always go through things you've written and add more or maybe take out certain things: it's a palimpsest.
ReplyDeleteI'm a relatively new starter(only been doing it a year) and the reason I love it so much is escapism, it organises day dreams and makes them a little more useful. I just love sitting down and falling down the rabbit hole for half hour and forgetting where I am. I write mostly in my lunch breaks and evenings.
ReplyDeleteWriting; the IKEA for daydreamers :)
ReplyDeleteWriting; the IKEA for daydreamers.
ReplyDelete