On to other news. A man jumped out of a pod and free fell.
Made a record. Pretty cool. I guess writing a book pales in comparison. But on
that note, yesterday as I was talking to my husband, I found myself saying, “If
I keep at my current pace, I should be finished with my first draft of my manuscript
in ten weeks.” Which is not what was funny. What was funny is afterwards, I
found myself thinking, you know, why does it take so long to write a book? Then
the next thought I had was…WTF? If it only takes a total of 4 months to draft
one book, while I work, take care of my family, and have a social life,
well…that is pretty fan-freaking-tastic. I can’t believe this writing thing has
become my life. But it is.
It has gone from something I thought about doing, to something
I AM doing. And it’s true what they say. The more I do it, the more fascinated
I get in the craft of writing, and thus the better I become. It’s pretty damn
cool.
Writing is so much more than coming up with an idea and
stringing words together to make a coherent sentence. It’s finesse and crafting
to get the right emotion, the right image conveyed to the reader. It has
changed how I see the world.
A few years back, there was a writer strike. All the network
TV stopped for a few months while writers picketed for fair wages and
compensation during what was then an internet boom with streaming programming
at the forefront. Even then, I supported my fellow writers with a “hells ya”
and signed petitions online. I knew they worked hard, and since they were the
brains behind every character, every joke, every amazing one liner still heard
today, they deserved whatever they asked for.
What was cool though, was the solidarity between writers.
They banded together and it really seemed like every one of them genuinely
liked and cared about another. And you know what? Now that I am writing, and
have found myself fraternizing with the writerly crowd, there is something I’ve
realized. This IS true of all writers. It’s an incredibly loving and
supportive group. I am honored to be one of them.
Which brings me to the point of this blog post. (Took a
while huh?) The writers got together and created a website called WHY I WRITE. See here for the original post. Click on the calendar to see more.
Each day, there was a new post from a writer with an essay
about why they chose to write. Reading through all of these, my emotions ranged
from pleased, to laughing riotously, and filling me with hope and passion. They
were great essays. Maybe my next post will be my Why I Write. But in short
form...
I write because I have to. I write because I have these
voices inside my head that want to get out and they won’t leave me alone until
their story is told. I write because the legacy of the human mind is gifted
through words. I write because more than anything, I want my legacy to be that
I made people laugh, or touched them with words, or took them away from their
problems for just one day.
So…why do YOU write?
