Whenever I ask why someone writes, I get a different yet similar answer. The details change, but the essence is always that there’s a story in the writer’s head struggling to be heard. Whether the story is based on fact or springs entirely from imagination, the characters are real, and they have loud voices. The only way to stop the noise is to put the words on paper.
I think practitioners of other arts feel the same. As a fiber artist, I often look at a combination of colors or fabrics and think, “There’s a quilt in there.” Sometimes the two overlap, and I not only have a quilt banging at my brain cells, but the beginning of a story too.
Now that summer is winding down, and before the holiday frenzy starts, I’m scouring my calendar, looking for dates I can block off for creativity time. I don’t want to be in this alone, however, so here’s a challenge for you: tell me why you write in 300 words or less. Let’s fill the Tri-Valley Writers blog with reasons we write, and inspire each other to keep going. Think of it as a test run for NaNoWriMo. After all, if you start asking why you write, those characters in your head might just tell you what to write. New York Times Best Seller List, here we come!