Why do you write?

[Riven___Caulfield]

Hello there.


Once upon a time I was a regular contributor to Lit, and writing with the intention of submitting it to readers online was a daily and deeply enjoyable exercise.

Unfortunately, my creative juices have either run dry or hit a dam, and I would be fortunate to indulge in that once-daily exercise on a yearly basis.

But, I clearly recall what I enjoyed about the act of writing. What the Point was.

We all go out every day and live the life we have - the life we have to - in a world of firm rules and laws and consequences. We all have constraints - iron constraints that tells us to not do this, this and that.

But upon arriving home and plopping in front of a word processor, we slough off our mortal coil (go Hammie!) and its iron-clad constraints. This, this and that could be wrong - but it certainly might not, because this isn't the world you walked around in all day.

This one's yours. You made it. And after walking around all day living the life you have to, it is intensely pleasurable to slip into a different world, and live the life you choose instead.

(It could naturally be argued that people indeed pick their own paths in life, power of choice and all that. But as one who believes in God (of some sort), I have to side somewhat with the Destiny point of view, and therefore Choice in one's Real Life is only of moderate importance.) But back to the point.

Is it the same for you? When you write a story, is it like slipping into a hot bath? Does it feel like a warm security blanket around you? The ability to do anything, to experience anything - getting excited when your protagonist is - being frightened when they fear - and still safe beneath the warm blanket.

Or is it not the fantasy, but merely the act? Washing the dishes, whittling wood, raking pebbles - simply doing, which allows a sense of peace?

Some writers write for themselves, and some write for an audience. Still others write only because to not is not an option.

So why do you write?


Yours sincerely,

-Riv

P.S. yes, yes, some people on Lit write with the only answer to 'Why?' being 'Masturbation' - that answer's as valid as any.

 

[Bandit1]

I write because I need to.
It is one of my two outlets for my creative energies.
Since I am still limited in my mobility, writing is the one outlet that I can indulge in.

 

[Riven___Caulfield]

 

[Colleen Thomas]

Writing is my escape. it gives me pleasure and the feedback and boards have become my window on the world.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

Someone had a line in their signature--I foget who, and I forget whose quote it was--but it said "We write so that we can taste life twice."

That's probably my primary motivation.

Things go by so fast and with so little sense in real life. I take a lot of pleasure in going back and examining these events and feelings and trying to pin down what they felt like and make sense of what they meant.

Usually I have to change the way things happened, maybe even make them happen to other people in different circumstances, but the feelings and questions they have are always mine.

---dr.M.

 

[Liar]

I write because I can.

I can't play music more than half decent, I can't paint to save my life, and I can't sing.

So I do the only other things I can to let some steam off my slightly nutty muse. I write stories , poetry and music (that I can't play, but hey...).

#L

 

[TheEarl]

I write because I can too, but also because I take great pride whenevr I create a new piece of work and that pride is amplified by some of the reactions to it.

The Earl

 

[Goldie Munro]

I write because I want to!

It makes me feel good and gives me an escape from the daily humdrum of life - takes me to places I might never go to or lets me relate things that have happened. I like writing but above all I love reading!

 

[impressive]

I write because I have this twisted idea that what gets me off just might get someone else off, too.

But really ...

I write as a creative outlet. Some of the darkest times of my life were when I had no such outlet. Thus, I see it as critical to my emotional health.

I write to vent feelings that I cannot (yet) express directly.

I write to capture moments, to later return and savor them.

I write to give substance to the ethereal that dances in my mind.

I write to share.

 

[CharleyH]

Someone had a line in their signature--I foget who, and I forget whose quote it was--but it said "We write so that we can taste life twice."

---dr.M.

There is no better way to say it

 

[doormouse]

I don't write so bite me lol

 

[Goldie Munro]

I don't write so bite me lol

CHOMP!

 

[carsonshepherd]

Like most everyone here I think writing is my outlet.

In my real life, I'm a little bit reserved. I don't share a lot of myself with my lovers or really anyone but a couple of very close friends I really trust. Writing is how I express myself; I channel a lot of my emotions into what I write rather than expressing them to people around me. I'm not shy, it's more of a trust issue.

Also, writing allows me to work out my emotions about things that have affected me in the past, or issues that bother me now. I guess it's a cheap form of therapy

But it's also more than a hobby - something my various lovers have never understood through the years. It's a serious pursuit to me, even if I am writing so-called "erotica" and not getting paid. It's what I care about. It's what gets me through my sometimes-not-so-great day to day life. Without it, I'd probably go crazy.

Oh... and also... I like everything to be about me me me; I'm always the center of my own li'l fictional universe!

 

[Quiet_Cool]

I gotta agree with Liar and TheEarl on this one. We have to offer something to the world. Writing is what I can do. I have no real talents other than that, assuming that what I do can be considered a talent, and that's (of course) in the eye of the beholder, like everything art related seems to be (or mostly).
I can't really offer the world anything else.
Those other things that were mentioned are in there. Re-experience, venting creative feelings and whatnot. It even helps me learn a lot about myself, meaning as the words fall, my ego and pride and emotions fall out of the way. It doesn't adhere to those things, and I find out what I really feel about certain things.
Those things are involved, but I do it because it's me. It's what I am.

Q_C

 

[Bridget69]

I write because I feel it is the only significant talent that I possess.

I'm also quite shy and I have a hard time expressing myself in front of others, so writing kind of gives me the opportunity to release the thoughts and ideas that I cannot express verbally.

Like reading, writing is a great escape where you can live through another character's eyes and experience scenarios that are so unlike reality.

It also gives me an opportunity to contribute my work for others to see and to hopefully enjoy.

 

[U4ea]

I write because there's no other way to get the thoughts and ideas in my head out. The fact that I do it reasonably well and get satisfaction from seeing it on paper, or on a screen, and that other people seem to enjoy it, too...those are just encouragements to keep doing it. I write what I like and if someone else likes it, too...I'm happy for it!

 

[logophile]

This is a great thread. I don't know how to quote from multiple posts yet, so I'm going to do this rather half-assed.

Riv said:
Still others write only because to not is not an option.

That definitely would be me. Like anyone who is tormented by a muse, I must write or go crazy. My head gets full up with words and they must come out...

impressive said:
Some of the darkest times of my life were when I had no such outlet. Thus, I see it as critical to my emotional health.

This is also me. Over and over again I've tried journaling to get the kind of release I need, but I really need to know that I'm being read. So I guess it's not just about letting it out but also sharing. I'm not good at asking for help or admitting that things are rough for me. If I write (a story, a letter, a column, what-have-you) for someone else's consumption then I'm letting on that things aren't going well. I had a nervous breakdown last winter and the one anchor I had in the sea of craziness was a friend who was willing to read and respond to my emails. There were days when I would write to him 5 or 6 times and he read them all. Knowing that my rambling rubbish was being read made it all more bearable somehow.

Q_C said:
It even helps me learn a lot about myself, meaning as the words fall, my ego and pride and emotions fall out of the way. It doesn't adhere to those things, and I find out what I really feel about certain things.

Yup! I learn so much about myself when I read what I've written.

And then Q_C said:
Those things are involved, but I do it because it's me. It's what I am.

Exactly. It's what I am. It's one of the foundations of me. I am three things... I am a Mother. I work in women's health. And I am a writer. And even when I'm not writing and I don't believe I'll ever write anything again, the muse chases me down and fills my head with her words and torments me until I sit and pour it out.

Now, why do I write erotica? That's a little easier to answer. It's a sexual outlet. I'm a single mom (re: breeder cow?) who works from home. I don't get to meet a lot of people. I have long sexual dry spells. And so I write to explore my fantasies. I read erotica to get me hot and introduce me to new sexual ideas.

Yikes, lots of babbling. Thanks for the topic, Riv!

 

[Guest]

i write
some times well, most often not, but its me.
more often i read and absorb feelings of others...very cathartic.
if i couldn't write?
id sing...play the dulcimer...but it would lack that intimacy i can put out there with words. my life would be a bit less sweet i think...

 

[Just-Legal]

I write to remember and I write to forget. I write from memory and I write from fantasy.

Seriously.

 

[shereads]

I tried to say, "I'm cumminnnngggggggggggg" in Semaphore and my arms almost fell off.

 

[curious2c]

Hmmm...interesting question that makes me look deep inside myself. After some thought what I have come up with is this...


I began writing as an outlet for my frustration with so many stories making certain characters out to be...well...wimpy and to a point in that wimpyness...sad.

To understand just how much it bothered me...

In high school, English was my least favorite subject, and I didn't like school at all either.

Later, my life led me to paths that were as far from writing as one could get. Being a writer or author never crossed my mind until that one day when I got fed up with whichever story I was reading and once again the husband became a trompled on wimp with no back bone at all. The cold heartless 'wife' making fun of him and he...in some fucked up sick way...loving it. Sorry...not for me. I was also a bit down due to some other stories I had read that had all the great potential of being very good and then they too went into that bottomless pit.

So...I wrote a story...full of mistakes in grammar, and discovered that deep inside me...I had something that needed an outlet. Writing seemed to be it. The next thing I knew I had written...well quite a few stories. I'm not saying they are great or any kind of award winners. I'm not trying to be that. I'm just trying to please myself, and hopefully a few other people out there as well.

At times, reading my public comments and some feedback...heh...I know that I hit nerves and quite often, more than I ever counted on.

I look at how many 'reads' on a story I have written and it always hits me...'Wow...that many people read m y story?'

I've never been exactly sure where I stand in the literary sense, and I'm not sure it would really matter to me. All I know is I have written and others have read. Some have liked my works, some have not. I'm...an author. heh...If some people only knew...

 

[cloudy]

What a cool thread!

I'm not really sure what my answer is. I write because I've always written. I think that as soon as I realized that I could construct a sentence, and then a paragraph, and that those words really meant something, I started writing.

Most already know this, but my life sucks right now, and has for awhile. All creativity is frowned upon, but this is the one way that I can let out some of the things that are starting to pile up on me, and it's also an escape. I can start writing, and for a little while, I'm not here anymore - I'm in the story.

I'm also one of those people that says "what if" a lot. I get this little thought about what if...., and then it won't leave me alone until I've written it.

Not much different, I suppose, than most others here.

 

[Riven___Caulfield]

Aaaaaahahahahahahahahaaa!

Okay - thank you shereads - I got a genuine laugh outta' that one. Which is very cool for me.


Keep 'em comin', by the way. I'm really enjoyin' this.

Hi curious - (I think that's the same curious, but you'll often find me wrong about such things)

and P.S. - thanks everybody for posting. ...why did I want to say "sharing"...? I'll tell you why - I've been spending too much time in the room while my father watches Oprah!

Well that ends today.

-Riv

 

[hiddenself]

Riven dh'aling

You've been missed (more than you know).

I write because I can let go more easily when noone's looking.

It's also a natural extension of spending many long hours weaving plots and stories about people in my real life. That's a big part of how interact with people. If I do this, what will they do? If I act this way, how will they react? If this happens, how might they respond? What if...

 

[shereads]

To impress Jodie Foster.

~ John Hinckley