For the most basic and circular reasons. I write, to write.
A meaningless and obvious answer. But as an answer, it has one quality of note: it is true.
But why? What does it mean?
There is something egocentric in writing.
Picking up a pen and inscribe some words on a page for all time to remember. An important speech, a total new idea, a never before thought of story about how a boy meets a girl. As if the words that float through my brain should be of any interest to someone else. The confusion in my head is often of no interest to me. But I write them down sometimes anyway.
There is something powerful in writing.
Who lives, who dies, who was never even born. All of time and space, or the contents of a shoebox. As the writer you have total unquestioned control over every aspect.
There is something romantic in writing.
Or at least about the ‘ideal’ of writing. Waking up at two in the afternoon, taking your trusty notepad down to the local cafe and drinking 4 strong coffees as you fill your book with ideas and notes. Spending the summer in the Mediterranean to help focus on your next novel. Typing a novel or 2 every year. Going to late night dinner parties and being generally fabulous. That’s how it goes right?
There is something exciting in writing.
Amazing adventures and characters you didn’t even know you had in you. Twists and turns even you weren’t expecting. Holes in the plot you hope no one will notice. A story can take on a life of its own, and all you can do is keep writing to find out how it ends.
There is something humble in writing.
And when it does end, you read back over it and every now and then you are genuinely impressed with yourself, even though you can’t say that to anyway. Until a few days later, you pick up an old classic written 200 years ago and realise that your just a mediocre hack. So you go back to your work, get out the red pen and make it even better.
Egocentric, powerful, romantic, exciting & humble?
I think I might have missed the point of the question.
Theres is one thing that I know and one thing that I don’t.
I do know that I enjoying writing. And I don’t know why I don’t write more.
—
Part of my creative writing class. Weekly Assignment 1.