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Why are you a writer?

Vogel

Acolyte
I can very well relate to OP's post. I don't have an audience yet, I have just decided to pursue writing as a full time career. Hopefully I reach the apex, and hopefully I learn more than I do now. I know its a long road, I hope my demons don't stand in the way.
 
It's refreshing to read that there are plenty of people who don't have divine reasons or deep passions for writing, but who write just because.

For me I write because I love reading, I like telling stories and I want to share those stories.

Though, I must add, the corona pandemic has added a second reason. If you ignore the whole deadly virus going round, taxing our healthcare system and threatening the world economy, then my life the past two weeks has been fairly relaxed. Wake up when the kids kick me out of bed (around 7-ish), get ready for the day, make sure the kids are taken care of for the day. Then go upstairs to my little office and work a bit, with plenty of good tea and a lunch break in between and then go down to the kids again. I even managed to get a bit of fiction writing done in a quiet hour a few times. It's much preferable to my regular office job and a bit like what a writers life feels like to me. I would love to do this full time. So I also write so I can at one point perhaps write even more...
 

A. E. Lowan

Forum Mom
Leadership
I come from a long line of Irish writers. My mom was a writer and I learned both the craft and the business at her knee. She was my toughest critic, my inspiration, and she never lost faith in me. She and my dad got to see our first book before they died, and it meant the world to them.

I write because I can't not write. It's addictive and it's in my blood. I can't imagine a life where I wasn't an author, and I can't wait to see where this journey takes me, next.
 

scink

Acolyte
Hi

I assume by writer you mean anyone that spends many hours writing stories, whether for others to read or not. I am more of your Finding Forrester kind of character so here goes.

I have always been the creative type with a very active imagination. I was born into a large family so I have always valued my privacy and treasured moments on my own. I found school a breeze and excelled without even trying. I even won a national writing competition without realising what I had done. My first real challenge was to write my speech as head boy and my speaking to a massive audience was like breaking my first horse. There were many more to come.

I trained as an architect and spent my lifetime writing. At first the challenge of writing minutes was one of the most difficult things I had ever done. The words had literal meaning and would be cross examined by all those attending meetings and challenged. At School of Architecture we were subject to critical assessment for everything we did and therefore learning to be both confident in presentation and believable in concept made the challenge of writing most important.

I dread to think how many letters and reports I have written. I often reflect on the more intense letter writing periods where I was dealing with complex legal matters, and doing battle with contractors and the like. There was never any room for sentiment or personal views. Matters were of a literal nature and as architect we were the judge, jury and executioner and this was quite daunting.

However, because of my writing endlessly I found words lyrical and poetic. They have taken on a magical form and are so powerful in conjuring up the most wondrous of ideas. Whist drawing with a pen and pencil has always been intoxicating , given that the ultimate spaces that were created eventually were populated by people and fully experienced in the third dimension, the creativity of the writing instrument was and is in many ways way more powerful.

I collect old computers, I have a quite massive collection, probably one of the largest collections of home computers. I spend each day recording the computers and associated software, and also repair and maintain the kit. Writing was become a necessity here also as I write my daily blogs on what I do and help and comment on numerous forums. Again, the words have real power. I have my own user user group and have managed to assemble a happy crowd of fellow users that like to joust with words. Without them I would be lost, and it takes me all the way back to that speech I had to write, because I knew then that I had broken the beast and was free to use words at my leisure. Many, I feel, that leave school never understand what it is to master writing, for if they did they would never put a pen down again.

I write because I have not been able to fit a digital recording device to my brain. It is why I love computers and paper. They allow me to record all my ideas, and thoughts and visions. I have written a daily journal for as long as I can remember. I have shelves full of day books from my days at work and I doubt a day goes by that I don't record what has happened.

And so today I write books. I've been writing books for a couple of decades now. They have become a part of my life. The characters are all very real and the worlds hold their own meaning. I guess everything starts with the blank piece of paper which is basically nothing and then through imagination starts a journey into something. That process has always been the escape that I so desired from my days growing up as a child in a congested house filled with people. It was my wardrobe through which I escaped. So that is why I started writing. That is why I continue writing. It is the most wondrous experience there is , to escape this world and to adventure through your own imagination. I care not for validation by others, my words are my escape and my joy is to read the stories I have written. Maybe one day when I leave this world someone may trip across my works and enjoy their content, but for now they stay locked in my private world.

I write cus I can and the joy of words hold more reward than can be found at the end of any rainbow.
 

Jess Reynolds

Closed Account
I think for me without doubt it's the sheer escapism of other worlds and their magical happenings, balancing out the daily routine nicely as well as getting away from the all intrusive daily world and being glued to a screen. Much the same as life was when TV was the only option, how close George Orwell was to today when he wrote "1984"....!!
 
When I was pretty young I would often make up little stories scribbled on some pieces of paper with my illustrations accompanying them. My friend at school also is an author and is publishing her first novel right now, so she inspired me a lot. I also was inspired by my favorite fantasy series like Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings.
 
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