40 Reasons Why I Write

Relatively recently, Bryan Hutchinson issued a challenge on his blog, Positive Writer – list 40 reasons why you write. You can see his answers here. When it came about, I was in the throws of Camp NaNoWriMo. As that is now complete, and I’m taking a small break from the novel so I can attack it again in July’s edition of Nano, I needed this challenge. It’s been difficult to stay motivated, because the hits just keep coming in both my personal and professional life. So, I’m going to take some time to remind myself why I write. I hope you find my answers either interesting or inspirational. Also, I am so incredibly late to this challenge.

1. Writing keeps my brain busy. With my ADHD, my brain is always spinning anyway, so this gives it something to work on in the background.
2. Stories haunt me, and I have to get them out.
3. I have had a lot of trauma and strange events in my life, and I need an outlet.
4. Sometimes, I like to live vicariously through my characters.
5. Sometimes, I like to bury myself in my characters so I can forget life.
6. My son looks up to me for creating whole stories all by myself, and there’s no beating that.
7. Writing is a strong bond I share with my husband, as he is also an author.
8. Writing is a strong bond I share with my sister-in-law. She is also an author.
9. Writing has helped me make amazing friendships, some that are sure to be lifelong.
10. I like how writing makes me feel, like I am weaving worlds from my imagination.
11. The sense of accomplishment I feel when I finally get something right is amazing.
12. Rewriting has taught me all about perseverance. Frustration, but perseverance.
13. I like to read things I love over and over again, so this was probably a fitting career choice.
14. I love to paint with words.
15. I love to listen to music, and music always inspires me to paint with my words.
16. Clever dialogue is all around me. What would I do if I didn’t jot some of it down and use it for my own benefit?
17. My best friend has yoga. I have writing.
18. The creative people on my journey with me are the best people.
19. My characters tend to be stronger than I am. Or at least, than I was. These days, I seem to be taking a page from my own book. Writing has encouraged me to be stronger.
20. I’ve had a lot of people tell me I won’t get anywhere in this business, or something is wrong with the core of a particular story, etc. I intend to prove them very wrong.
21. When my anxiety disorder, my depression, my PTSD rears up, writing helps me cope.
22. Because, as a woman, and as a woman with physical and mental health issues, my voice and my individual experiences deserve to be heard.
23. I love reading so much, and I know how it feels to really connect with a character. I would love to be able to provide that for someone else.
24. I’ve always loved playing with voice and word choice, seeing how different an outcome I can create just by finding a more exact bit of syntax.
25. Writing often helps me to put feelings I’m dealing with into words, to tell truths through my characters that I can’t articulate properly in reality.
26. I honestly don’t know what I would do with all the spare time I’d get if I didn’t write or plan to write.
27. When I’m writing I can temporarily put off other, more important chores. But not the most important ones, of course. 😉
28. I still believe in magic, and sometimes, writing feels like magic. Like when something inexplicably comes together, and it feels like destiny, that feels like magic. That is the rare moment where I become a believer.
29. How else can I justify talking to the people who live in my brain?
30. I’m stubborn and I’ve said I’m going to do it, so damn it, I’m going to do it.
31. Some of the most fascinating people I’ve ever met write, so I hope some of that rubs off on me.
32. Sometimes, I’m not all that adventurous, so I need an excuse to try new and interesting things. Research gives me that excuse.
33. I was already a fact hoarder. This gives me a reason to hoard facts.
34. I hate waste, and I feel like I have a lot of knowledge and random experiences that just kind of sit around in my brain and go to waste. I want to give them some use. Like my two years working at an ice cream shop. I’m using that in my latest book.
35. There are tons of stories that I want to read, that I don’t find out there. I’ve always been a bit of a control freak. They say, if you want something done, do it yourself, right?
36. I’m getting to a point where rejections mean almost nothing to me. I’m numb to rejection.
37. Unless, they come with constructive criticism, at which point I am disappointed, but I have learned to love constructive criticism and view it as encouragement and help, rather than an insult. I think writing has helped to improve my personality in that way.
38. I have also become able to tell the difference between constructive knowledgeable criticism and insults, being led astray, and jealous attacks designed to keep a person below them. That lesson has helped me in all areas of my life.
39. I have a side gig as an editor, and I’ve always believed that, if you are going to manage people, you should be willing to get your hands dirty. If I won’t get my hands dirty with words, why should I tell other people to do so?
40. I love to geek out. It’s my life’s mission to make other people geek out as much as I do.

So, there are my 40 reasons! Do you need to remind yourself why you love something? Share your reasons in the comments, and thank you for being one of the people I’ve encountered on this journey, the people I write for. Thank you for being one of my reasons. <3