[Hereford Eye]

Recently pondering why I write – a friend accused me of not taking writing seriously - to conclude that maybe I should write a text on the joy of writing. That’s why I write, after all, the sheer joy of writing. I get wrapped up in the story, the words pour through my fingers, my imagination gets wrapped up in the way I want to say something or the way a character is developing or a thousand other things, all of which add up to some of the best times of my life. I know there are lots of how to books out there but mine will be different since it will deal with the sheer pleasure of writing, not the business of writing. The outline I have in mind goes:
§ On Advanced Writing
§ The Art of Writing
§ Starters
§ Main Courses
§ Sauces and Pickles
§ Deserts – some folks have used this section to address the problems but, hey, as already noted, there are lots of those kinds of how to books out there.
Am I the only one who gets pleasure from writing? I find this improbable but maybe there are other reasons for writing than because you like it. Maybe the idea of creating the next best seller, outdoing J.K. herself, causing more consternation than Dan Brown, hell, I don’t know. But, I do know that I write because it’s fun!
What’s your reason?

[Jamza1986]

I first started writing as a creative outlet really. I have to have something to chew over in my imagination, and writing seemed like the best way to express the things I thought of. Also the sci-fi/fantasy genre is great for this because there really are no limits in the places you can go and the characters you can create.

About a year after I began writing a serious volume of stuff I realised that by trying to get my work published I could share it with others and even be paid for it! So then it became a biit of a challenge to try and get things published at all costs.

I wasn't entirely unsuccessful, but I was pretty close to it. More recently I've stopped minding about rejection letters and things like that and simply turned back to creating art and having a good time writing stories and poems. I do like it, but also doing something creative is pretty necessary for me; I'm not comfortable if my imagination isn't engaged.

[Dawnstorm]

My mind spins stories and re-formulates others' thoughts on a constant basis. Do I take writing seriously? Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. There's no more point to writing than to living. Both are things I do, and that is that. When I stop the latter, I suppose I'll stop the former.

[bassinstinct]

I think I started writing (back in HS) because I was inspired by stories I really liked, and I wanted to tell similar stories. But as I got older, I realized that, as a writer, I had the power to write other kinds of stories, stories I wanted to hear. And I was able to introduce the type of characters I wanted to see. As a writer of color, that's particularly important to me.

But in terms of enjoyment, absolutely! Writing is my life. And it's the one thing (aside from music) that will genuinely lift my spirits if I'm having a crappy day. In fact, I was depressed at work yesterday, and when I started working on my novel, I very quickly forgot why I was depressed and why I was having such a bad day.

I think that's why I could never teach a class on writing, or write a book on it. I simply love it too much to be objective and analytical enough to tell others how to do it. :p

[Sticktator]

I simply adore reading a fantasy book with a really well-created world. One day, I don't know why, I just sat down, opened up Microsoft Word, and wrote about a city called Akavine that had been overrun by Stone Ogres. It was completely unplanned. And I loved it. I was doing so well; the only time I stopped was to check for mistakes and think of a better word for what I was trying to say. In the end, it turned out to be seventeen pages in length. I decided, one day, I would write a novel. I would create my own world, shape it with my mind, and make an interesting story. Now that I'm fifteen and writing my first novel, my creativity is being pushed to its limits, and I love it.

[Abby]

I write in part because it's the best therapy for me (psychologists never worked), and in part to see people's reactions. I think of myself as an entertainer or a storyteller. Writing is one medium I work in; art is my other medium.

I became addicted to writing when readers said good things, such as "I was up all night reading this," or "I could see it like a movie in my mind," or "I read this under my desk at school," or "I used the office printer at work, because I needed to find out what happens next."

Those comments are like crack to me. I want to hear more. Part of it is making people happy, and part is feeling like I'm making a difference in people's lives, giving them new perspectives or things to think about.

And I just fit in with writers and readers. I've always been a bookworm. These are my people. :)

[Stark Raven]

What Abby said. Well, except for the "best therapy" part. For me that's swordplay, but writing (and reading) is a close second. In addition to the "praise as crack" thing, I also find it exceedingly gratifying to see a rough collection of ideas come together into a polished, coherent whole. The glittering crystal facets of a literary gem hewn from the drab bedrock of my disordered psyche seem to hold endless fascination for me.

[James Carmack]

I don't think you're going to find too many here who see writing as just work. Those who do no doubt produce nothing but dry, lifeless prose. I write because I enjoy it. If I put a story on the page, it stops playing in an endless loop in my brain (which only makes room for new ideas to run the circuit). I really could care less whether I become published or not, but I do want to share my work with as many people as possible. Still, I don't see it as a mere hobby. It's my vocation, my calling, what I was always meant to do. I've been writing stories ever since I was a little kid and I intend to keep on doing it until dementia robs me of my faculties. (And I might even stick with it then. I'll just spin my scatterbrained ramblings as some sort of trippy postmodern spiel. ^_^ )

[BlueAngel]

I started writing, well, in creative writing class in school, mostly on your average assignments, but I usually got recognition for a vivid imagination. In the days where I had no idea where I was going with writing in general, I began writing up on my own characters, and storylines not unlike that which fascinated me at the time. Those ideas that influenced me were usually of the same genre in which I now write. A lot of it was VERY disorganized and clearly the work of a budding novice.

Why I write and why I love it so much are for more than one reason. I've always loved my genre, but my mind would forever loop in fantasies of my own making after a favorite movie. I couldn't stop it, it wouldn't leave me alone, so I heeded the call to create my own visions. There has to be a reason for me wanting to have gotten into it, so here I am working on making that skill better, as well as the artwork. ^_^
I also do it as an escape from reality, since I often need it, but who doesn't? I want to share what my mind's eye sees, and to allow others that same gift of escape. Making people think is another reason, since in this genre one can have reflections of this world and in a way, comment on them or even present a new way of looking at things.

I would like to get published at some point in the future, but i know it's a hard path ahead. This isn't something I want to do as a living, then it would be a 'job', and I fear the joy would fade. I will give this work the time it needs to be polished and improved before I rush off to do that. But if and when it happens, I'll be glad if a small percentage of people come to know my name and the work that comes with it.~Angela

[Arash]

I write for the same reason a cow gives milk.
-George Bernard Shaw