Why I Write

Just when I think I've reached the point where I can no longer get much from articles on writing, I stumble across one that leaves me pondering just how much I think I know. I read an article that asked me the simplest question: Why do you write?

And I had no idea.

It's not that I've never thought about it - I mean, we all do here and there. But I had never focused directly on the question.

The article said that you should write it down, to have on hand when you get discouraged or stressed and start questioning why exactly you are putting yourself through this anyway? So when I headed for my thinking spot (the shower) a little later, I gave it some serious thought. Why do I write? Here is my answer:

I write because I have so many stories to tell, and I want people to read and enjoy them as much as I enjoy creating them.

The article said that our reasons tend to change over the years, and I know this to be true. When I first started writing, my reason was to make a lot of money penning awesome stories so I could quit my job and move to Colorado with my parents where they could retire and relax. (This was only fed by the fact that said parents kept asking me when I was going to finish a book so they could move and retire and relax already! ;) But I now know that it is extremely difficult to make enough money to fulfill that dream - writing just doesn't pay that much. You have to throw your whole self into becoming a book machine, or get really lucky and hit it big. Not that I'm not going to try, but my reasons for writing are now much more realistic.

I come up with at least one new story idea almost every day. Life inspires me, and before I know it I'm thinking, "But what if this had happened instead?" or "What if she was put in this situation?" or "If only there had been a body in the middle of the room!" My mind starts churning and creating and expanding the story, and I itch to put it down on paper - and ultimately show the world. One day I hope I can, and I look forward to hearing what the world thinks of it.

But first, to get it down...*sigh*

So why do you write?