Post History

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/44512
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

We all have our own reasons, unique to each. The magic of the written word is that it remains. The desire to write something worthy of lasting, whether it is read or not seems to be mine. I need to tell a story.

The passion for the well-crafted phrase, the pursuit of that beautiful passage, but mostly, my characters. I write for them, to bring them to life if only for a moment.

If I do not write, characters I am very fond of will never exist - not even on the page.

It can be cathartic. I have gone through some trials recently and writing allows me to release stress in a productive way.

Writing is a vocation, a calling. I started writing when I was a kid. I stopped occasionally but I have three novels that will never even be shared with a friend as they do not meet my standards. They were good training.

When people talk about professions and what it takes to succeed or even take part in them, writer is rarely mentioned. People talk about the seven years of med school, residency and internship for doctors, the pre-law and law, articling for lawyers. No one says to be a good author it will take decades of study of the craft and devotion. The overnight successes are as rare and only apparently so as they are in acting - another profession that requires passion to maintain.

Like others, I steal moments and write. I do this because I have always done so. When I was a landlord, I wrote. When I was a student, I wrote (sometimes could not turn it off - silly me). I will write as long as characters I imagine do things.

Original score: 2