WHY Do We Do This Writing Thing?
by Jenny Hansen
A while back, my pal Julie Glover asked this question on social media: "Fellow writers, why do you write?"
The answers were astonishing.
There were easy answers like joy, entertainment, discovery. And one writer who said, "The books I most want to read are not yet written, so I must write them. —paraphrasing Toni Morrison.."
One person said, "Writing is an adventure!"
But many writers haven't nailed their motivation down.
- I've always written. I don't know why. I've just been compelled to tell stories my entire life.
- I've written since I was five. It's just a part of me.
Some answers were thought-provoking:
- It is good for the soul and it is a calling of the heart.
- It is the only way to get the damn stories out if my head. For as long as I can remember, my mind has been filled with stories. They play on a constant loop in my head. The only way I’ve found to stop them is to write them down.
- Writing has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, and writing a book had been a goal for decades. It's just something that's in me.
"For as long as I can remember" was a very common thread.
And some were funny.
- Good question. I'll have to think on that.
- Because I’m addicted to it now.
- So I can have something I enjoy reading.
- I get grumpy when I don't write.
That last one absolutely made me laugh. I always tell my husband that "I am far wittier, prettier, and happier when I'm writing regularly." (It's one hundred percent true.) So of course he shoos me off to the writing den when I'm dragging my feet.
Most authors gave answers that really resonated with me.
Those resonating answers are why I trotted over here to share the question with all of you.
- Because I don't know what I think until it comes out of my fingers.
- For the joy of discovering the story.
- It makes me happy.
- The 'aha' moments.
- Those times when some throwaway detail in the beginning becomes vital to the plot.
- When a character tick suddenly has an entire backstory and purpose I hadn't thought of at first.
- When several plot threads suddenly tie together perfectly, in ways I hadn't anticipated.
Only one answer made me sad...
I don't know, one author said.
This life has way too many ups and downs for a writer to stay sane and focused with an answer like "I don't know." The WHY is what keeps most of us going. Well, that and that we get to do it in our pajamas.
Final Thoughts
Y'all have heard me talk about it before, but...
I firmly believe that writers are made.
They are made from shyness and bullying and a million awkward moments. They're made from abuse and codependence and loneliness, and from thousands of sharp words that bruised their tender souls.
I believe the majority of writers are forged from fear or pain or loss.
I believe many writers began writing to create worlds that were better than the ones they lived in. They filled those worlds with the people they wished they knew and the relationships they wished they had.
I believe there are people who began writing because they felt compelled to make sense of things that made no sense, to speak the unspeakable, and to create hope and a way forward when there was no clear path in their everyday lives.
I believe that most writers are compelled to try to make the world better for others.
It takes some strong motivation to do what we do.
Let's face it, being a writer is rarely the easiest career choice. The pay is crappy and the hours are weird. Sometimes we have to repeat a task over and over again, until it is "just right." (Even though "just right" is kind of a unicorn.) Many of us never truly know when our work is done. We write and write until "we just feel it," or until someone more experienced tells us we are done.
There are a hundred easier professions, but very few that we'd find more satisfying. We like seeking out those unicorns. We like finding just the perfect word. And we love to create.
So now I'm circling back to you. WHY do you do this writing thing? What is the underlying reason or reinforcement that keeps you going? We'd love to hear about it down in the comments!
* * * * * *
About Jenny
By day, Jenny Hansen provides brand storytelling, LinkedIn coaching, and copywriting for accountants and financial services firms. By night, she writes humor, memoir, women’s fiction, and short stories. After 20+ years as a corporate trainer, she’s delighted to sit down while she works.
Find Jenny here at Writers In the Storm, or online on Facebook or Instagram.
Top photo credit from Yurizap at Depositphotos.
32 comments on “WHY Do We Do This Writing Thing?”
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I remember making a little fairy figure from grass to entertain my little sister, and telling her stories about it.
I remember when I was in my primary school, aged about 6 or 7, writing a story about a dog, after reading Shadow the Sheepdog by Enid Blyton.
In my teens I wrote a romance to entertain my friends. (It was terrible!)
At school the English lessons I liked best were creative writing, although I enjoyed grammar, too.
I wrote poetry as a student doing my teacher training. One got published.
As a teacher, I made up a story for an English class because in that area of the country, they often omitted the letter T when speaking. (I go' a le''er, Ri'a.)
I wrote a scenario for a D&D club I ran at the school I taught at, which eventually demanded to be turned into a book. (Actually, now a series!)
I tell myself stories before going to sleep.
People in my head ask for their stories to be told. Not only people. A ruined mansion I saw as a young teen has demanded I tell its story.
I write because of all these reasons. I have tales to tell. I hope they can entertain people, and help them in some way, but the main reason is a compulsion to tell all these tales.
Autocorrect has added an apostrophe in its where there shouldn't be one! Grrr!
Fellow grammar lover, as soon as I read your comment, I figured autocorrect had reared its ugly head!
I just corrected it for you, so you could be happier. 🙂
I love these stories, VM! Especially you little girls with your fairy stories. So sweet...
I write because I have stories to tell. Sometimes the characters won't leave me alone until the words find themselves on the screen. Pesky folks.
I read a chapter in a critique group recently. A new member glanced around and said, "She seemed like a nice person."LOL
The chapter was funny early on but had an extremely disturbing ending. Life experiences can be plucked from memory for good use in stories.
I love that you have that secret sassy side, Ellen. It's awesome. I remember the first time I realized you had dark stories in there. I was so impressed at how well you kept them hidden.
I have voices in my head that aren't mine. Sounds weird, I know. I used to think they came with the cadaver bone that the oral surgeon jammed into my jaw. Yeah, three dead people help me chew my Lucky Charms each morning. Perhaps it was them talking to me.
Then I realized that I am the storyteller, with the help of imaginary characters dwelling in my grey matter. There's such satisfaction in putting their words on paper/screen. Giving them air. Giving them life. Letting the fall. Letting them soar!
But, when I become a cadaver and my bones help someone else eat Lucky Charms each morning, I hope that person tells some great stories too.
I didn't know you had the cool bone donation in your jaw! I'll bet the process of getting that hurt like hell. How wonderful that science can transform our lives that way.
And yes, I love your storytelling too... I just got caught up in imagining who might be in your jaw. LOL.
The other reason I write is because I can't imagine not writing. I did it all through school, through my career, and now in "golden years." I love the idea of leaving a trail...a legacy...of my imagination for my kids and grandkids long after I'm gone.
There will be photos and videos, sure. But my stories will give an additional dimension to what is or was "me."
My stories always focus on outcasts overcoming obstacles. Let's face it: We're all outcasts in our own ways. And, if we're lucky, we're all overcoming obstacles.
If my stories can help offer encouragement or insights to readers, then I've met my goal.
Love that, Chris!
Because, after a lifetime of reading, I haven't found the book I wanted. But I learned what I like, and taught myself how to produce more of that.
And now I have to gird up to finish the third part.
So I can read it.
I'm so proud of you, Alicia!
Writing profusely boosts the chances that the moments I live for, once rare, will appear: the moments when a new story or turn of phrase or insight comes out on the page and I can simultaneously watch it happen and make it happen.
This is such a touching reason, Anna. It IS special to see both sides of the story!
I'm in the "because if I don't write, I go crazy" camp. Writing is such a part of my brain processing that I just have to do it!
*high five*
I am so much more interesting and alert and attractive when I'm writing regular. I just am.
Hi Jenny,
Thanks for the motivational post-- there's some powerful statements in here...
Why do I write?
I like to create fantastical worlds for people to escape to, just for a little break, when their own isn't going as well as they'd like.
That, and writers are a very fun and supportive group to hang out with. 😉
Kris
I can spend weeks writing one chapter of a book, while seeking out those so-beloved literary unicorns. We write because we must. Thank you for the encouragement.
It is a calling of the heart. My heart.
So sweet!
I write because it's cheaper than seeing a psychiatrist! Plus, if I'm traveling with a crowd (characters), I've always got someone to talk to.
Ha! We get to work out all the issues through those characters. Or at least imagine how they'd work out, right?
I can't not write. It feeds my soul.
Great post!
I love that, Sarah. 🙂
This is such a timely post as I've been working on writing a chapter for a book about finding your why as a writer. I'm one of those who has written "as long as I can remember" and sometimes it feels difficult to articulate why I do it other than I can't imagine NOT writing. But I think I do it because I want to share my view of the world with others, and I'm much better at conveying my thoughts in writing than in person.
Lisa, I am a huge fan of "find your WHY." I think it is at the core of everything for a brand -- be it author, big business, or little business. The why helps you know how to market yourself and your books.
Such a wonderful post, Jenny! I write for some of the same reasons why I read. I'm transported to other circumstances, worlds, and imaginations, taken away from my everyday. I love creating my own world, one I control every little detail of, because there is only so much control you have over your own life. I get emotionally involved in my characters. I come to love them so much, that I cry when I type The End.
I do too, Barb! I miss them when I have to say goodbye to them. I really think that's why I usually want to write books as a series.
I'm used to lighthearted, humorous posts from Jenny Hansen. But way to make me cry, girlfriend, with that section on "I firmly believe that writers are made"!
Okay, having wiped away the tears with a sturdy tissue, my answer is what you said there. Plus, I've always told myself stories, but it only occurred to me about 40 years into life that I might actually make one into a full book. Once I wrote that first full manuscript, imperfect as it was, I just wanted to keep going. Though now, I sometimes wonder why I continue, because telling myself stories is fun, but it's grueling to write whole books, so I'd like more people to read them so that it can be a shared thing.
As Samuel Johnson said, "A writer only begins a book. A reader finishes it."
Oh, I love that Johnson quote! And really, my whole post started with YOUR Facebook post. So...those tears aren't entirely my fault. (Hugs, friend.)