Why Do You Write?
February 20, 2008
I struggle with this question all the time. Of course, I write for a living, ie., for money.
But why write fiction? There's more money in nonfiction at almost every level unless you're a bestseller.
I was part of a panel of mystery authors this summer at the Romeo Public Library here in Michigan and one of the authors said, "I can't imagine not writing fiction. It's how I process life."
Which I thought nailed it pretty nicely.
And I'll admit that "winning" the BookEnds contest was a nice pat-on-the-back, but what it did more than anything else was remind me that writing fiction is about more (for me) than simply money.
I'm not always sure what it is about for me, but it's more than just money. (Money's nice, don't kid yourself. It may be the ultimate affirmation of your ability, whether we want to admit it or not). It's about nourishing my soul, if you will, or processing life, or activating a part of my brain that doesn't get used quite as well except when I'm writing fiction. It's about feeding dreams (about money and fame and about "art" and all that sort of stuff) and maybe it's about being part of something larger than yourself, whether that's a writing community or "literature" or, I sometimes think, as Tobias Buckell put it so eloquently, "literature is humanity's subconscious," and by writing fiction I am actively contributing to that.
How about you? Why do you write?
Cheers,
Mark Terry
posted by Mark Terry at 1:52 PM
12 Comments:
Funny, today I was just pondering why I sometimes don't write. Somehow, I feel so calm and centered when I write. I feel pretty neurotic when think about writing, but when I actually write, everything feels right with the world.
I have no idea why.
I have to agree with spyscribbler. Getting my butt in the chair is hard, but I feel most comfortable in my own skin when I'm working on my fiction and in that zone.
I think I just love words. When I first learned how they worked it seemed like magic and ever since I thought it was the best thing in the world to try to do that magic. You shuffle symbols around and *poof* -- pictures, actions, stories...even if a lot of the time I'm just writing essays which are stories about myself really. I don't think there's anything deeper to it than that.
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Ages ago, when people gathered around campfires to talk, the highlight of the evening was the story telling. Fiction (including parables) is the most effective way to communicate a theme.
Hi Mark. I followed you here from Erica Orloff's blog.
Hi Stephen,
WElcome.
Eric,
I'm in love with words too--the actual act of writing--but stories seem more important to me, at least in terms of fiction. Of course, the nonfiction often has a story, although for much of the nonfiction I write the "story" is in the background and there's no "narrative" per se.
Still, I think stories are important and I'm addicted to them.
I think you hit the nail on the head with everything you said in this post. I think fiction writers are a different breed. The quote; "I can't imagine not writing fiction. It's how I process life." is very well said. When I stop writing I go a bit crazy. When my last laptop suddenly up and died my dh ran out the next day and got me a new one because he knows I HAVE to write. (or maybe I'm impossible to live with otherwise? We've been together a long time.)
Is it an escape from reality? Therapy? Or just the need to silence the voices in my head? (jk!) Or something more?
The "what ifs" are always with me. I'm constantly writing in my head even when I do everyday things. (Okay, sometimes I'm painting too. I can do a whole canvas while stuck in traffic.) I think creative people need an outlet whether writing, painting, sketching or building something beautiful.
When people ask me why I write I say; because I can't not write. '
Its as simple as that.
Aimless,
Like your comments. I'm reminded of Carl Hiaasen's son saying, "If Dad's not writing or fishing he's kind of a pain in the ass."
I wouldn't discount the fiction writer's need to escape from reality. Not one bit. As John Barth once commented, "Reality's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there."
As for creative expression, one psychological thread I've noted in my own life was that when I got too busy in college to study music, within a relatively short period of time I turned to writing fiction. And I've noted this year that when I started learning guitar some of the creative fire to write novels seemed to dampen (or was more manageable).
And on a personal note, my guitar teacher is a songwriter and composer and he emphasizes that in his guitar instruction. I was working on Eric Clapton's version of the classic blues song "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out."
My teacher, after a couple of weeks, wanted me to take the chord progression and write a melody to it, then a bass line.
So I did.
Then I mixed them together to see what it would sound like. (Unfortunately, I had two melodies and it was too hard for me to play and didn't sound good). So I then started tinkering with the bass line. Then when I finally had a lesson, we tinkered some more and he wanted me to work on it some more this week. Which I've done. (I also wrote a rough draft of lyrics to it, but that's a different story).
I suspect Peter wonders if he's like the wife who asked for flowers and her husband went and built her a greenhouse. Can't say I didn't warn him when I first started taking lessons from him. I did say that writers by nature tend to be a bit obsessive-compulsive and if I get carried away with something I might be hard to stop.
Can I hear an amen?
AMEN!
Ask a creative person to create and there is no stopping him. Its like a damn bursting. There is no end...
Some people lift weights, some people smoke crack. I write stories with dragons, robots, and other strange things. It's a habit.
A few years ago, I gave up writing _and_ coffee at the same time. Like a shaman on peyote, I suddenly perceived the true nature of the universe. It wasn't beautiful or amazing. It was scary. It was Lovecraft scary.
I immediately picked up an espresso and got my behind in front of a keyboard.
Hmmm.
I've asked myself this question a lot. Especially in those moments when you get sick and tired of trying to keep the whole thing going.
I used to think I wrote because it helps give my life a shape. Which is a reasonable definition of any job when you think about it.
Which leads me to believe, when I really am truthful with myself, that I would probably get as much satisfaction out of playing piano
-- if I were good enough to be paid for it. I'm not. And no matter how much I love playing piano, I never will be.
But I can write. And because I am lucky enough to be published, the books get read. And sometimes people tell me that they enjoy the books. And that feels really good.
It's like that line in "Annie Hall" about why people keep falling in love even after they're kicked in the teeth: "Because we all need the eggs."
I am never ever going to be good enough to sit behind a Yamaha with a full brandy glass of tips. So I write because I need the eggs.
PJ,
That explains you, but I'm not sure it explains me. Although if asked why I'm a freelance fiction writer, I might suggest that "because I can" is as good an answer as any.
I've been making very good money writing business and market research/survey reports the last 2 years and if it sometimes (usually) feels like work, the reason I do it is simply that: because I can. If it didn't pay well I wouldn't, I'd write something else.
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