Hey Fantasy Fans,
When I was launching my Patreon page last week, it occurred to me that it’s been a long time since I explained why I do this writing thing. Why do I spend thousand of hours, year after year, pecking away at this keyboard, inventing stories and characters and places out of my imagination? And why do I have the gall to let the results be published for all the world to see?
Maybe I’m ill.
I’m only half kidding. I’ve long said that all writers — all those compelled to write — must be schizophrenic. It’s a strange thing to invent with words, to wrap ideas and philosophies inside a narrative, to create conversations between imaginary characters as if they were real people. Yet I love it.
For my money, there are few pleasures in this world that compare with the bliss of getting lost in a good book. And the idea that I could contribute to the realm of literature, that I could give that experience to other people, blows my mind. It’s with equal parts hubris and humility that I set fingers to keys and try to create something that speaks to you. Because we all have shared experiences, shared emotions, shared dreams. Fiction is about exploring those samenessess to dive down into the heart of what it means to be human. That’s my playground.
So, for me, writing is not a hobby, or even a profession. It’s a calling. Even back when the only people reading my stories were myself and my wife, it was a compulsion. A drive to keep inventing, to keep improving, to become a better person with every word written.
And I’ll keep doing it for as long as I live. I may never be a “popular” author. I may never win any awards or be able to live off my sales. But I am and forever will be a writer.
Usually I do not read post on blogs, but I would like to say that this write-up very compelled me to check out and do it! Your writing taste has been surprised me. Thank you, quite nice post.
I’m glad if it inspired anything.
Agreed. I get asked ‘why do you write?’ Or sometimes ‘When did you know you wanted to be a writer’ or questions on those lines. For me, it’s what I am. I’ve always done it, I’ve always made up characters and worlds. Storytelling is as much a part of me as hair, or skin. I could stop writing the stories down but they would still be there, and I’d probably go mad. I’m sure many writers have folders full of work they’d never publish, but those stories still exists, they still live. Any art is worthy – even if no one sees or hears it. Arts make us better people. Whether that’s music, literature or painting, and if we are a giver or receiver. Art, and particularly literature, takes us where we may be anything we chose. It makes us free
Beautiful comment, Alexandra. I totally agree.