So, how far along are you? Thinking you might not make it to 50k? Or perhaps you're one of those amazing folks who have already finished.
Here's a thought. Forget everything about 50k. Forget about purple bars. Forget your plot. And just write for you.
Take a moment to write down the answer to this question. "Why do you write?"
Here are my thoughts. I'd like to hear yours.
***********
Why do I write?
I write to make people think.
To make them cry.
To make them laugh.
To make them do anything but be the same that they were before they read my words.
I write because there's a part of me that cannot be revealed in the spoken word.
It only occurs in the solitude and vacuum that is myself and the empty page.
I write to leave my legacy.
I write because I want others to learn from my mistakes.
I write because I want others to understand my mistakes.
I write because the thoughts in my head would engulf me if I didn't release some at irregular intervals.
I write because the stories in my head insist upon being told.
I write because the strongest muscle is the heart.
But the strongest action is revealing that heart.
I write because I love the process, not just the end result. I love to watch the words flow from my hands onto the paper and know that, while others have had similar thoughts, no other person has ever written this exact combination of words in the history of language. No one has ever experienced this exact thought process. No one has had this moment in time but me.
I write because I don’t have a choice.
It's what I was born to do.
If I denied it, I'd be lost.
And what actions I might have set into motion will never happen.
And that's the most devastating thought of all...
What I might have begun will never happen if I let my gift go unexpressed.
And so, I write...
Christee & her pet rubber chicken, Elvis
Fear the Elsewheres...
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52,381 / 50,000
Nov 29, 2007 - 20 54
Yeah. =) It's exactly as she says.
Sometime around when I got back from a five day or so break, and I was 10k behind where I was supposed to be, I realized something; I was caught up in word wars and word counts, writing because otherwise, I would get behind. I had lost the joy of writing. When I realized that, the biggest motivator to write was because I could; not because I had to, or someone expected it of me. I didn't write because otherwise I would fail a class, but simply because I chose.
That day, I got one of my biggest word count boosts.
- - - - -
"When I Put My Pen to Paper", a poem I wrote way back during Hurricane Rita when our power was out for a while; writing was all there was to do.
Why I write... Well, I write because there are worlds waiting to be created, eploited, explored. There are any number of people that I have yet to meet, because someone has yet to create them; so I do.
Experiences that wait to happen, things I want to read. I love the transition of thought to paper, and paper to person (writing, then reading).
I'm also more than half in love with language itself. The idea of expressing yourself in a universal way that is also so peircingly unique, and subject to so many different opinions and backgrounds... that simply appeals to me.
The thought that if I write it, there is so much a possibility that so many more people will read it, understand it, be moved by it or not...that is what I live for.
I love the ability that every human has, but so few utilize, to create. Whether it is painting or sketching, photography or acting, cooking or writing. Every single human has the ability to be creative; I choose to harness that in the way that I know best: words.
Soo... I write.
=) Happy NaNoWriMo!!!!! A toast to a prosperous year, and all our friends that are here!!!
50,261 / 50,000
Nov 29, 2007 - 21 16
Amen.
50,093 / 50,000
Nov 30, 2007 - 05 48
Why do I write?
I write because I love it, because I love the idea, the process, the feeling of writing.
I write because I have ideas that won’t go away and I’d never want them to go away.
I write because I have characters I love and how put up with the torture I put them through.
I love to create, to utilize my talents of creativity to make something that brings other enjoyment.
I write because it brings me closer to my patron deities and helps me meditate.
I write because it’s how I work out problems in my personal life which was especially important this NaNo.
I write because I can’t picture myself doing anything else.
I write because I bring WriYe to others and encourage them to write.
I do it because I like to help others get better in their own writing.
Robyn
http://www.pro-board.com/index.php?proboard=nanowriye2008&act=idx
52,381 / 50,000
Nov 30, 2007 - 17 34
Oh, and I write because I absolutely, unfailingly, always, always, always have loved to read.
8D
50,212 / 50,000
Nov 30, 2007 - 19 54
I write for most of the same reasons all of you do:
I write b/c I get these glimpses into other places and other lives and I just cannot live my own until I get them out of my head
I write b/c the first time I ever realized that storybooks were made by actual people I was amazed and still continue to be
I write b/c I can't get the words out any other way
I write to remember the good times in my life and expel the bad ones
I write b/c I have this really annoying voice in my head that is always saying "What if...."
I write b/c there's more to this life than just my own
I write b/c I can't always have the things, people, outcomes I want and this brings them into my reality a bit
I write b/c I can't find the story in my head anywhere else
I write for the same reason a 9-month pregnant mother has her baby....it's sort of inevitable that the baby's coming whether you're ready or not
I write b/c I really like sleep and writing is the only thing that keeps the voices quiet long enough for me to rest!
I write b/c there is not a single thing on this planet that brings me more joy, heartbreak, aggrevation, accomplishment and many other wonderful words that seem contradictory
I write b/c I am a writer
50,261 / 50,000
Nov 30, 2007 - 19 58
Wow!
I love these posts. It just makes me feel great to see people with the same passion for writing that I feel.
And I agree -- I love the words "What if..." Those are my favorite things to say to a blank piece of paper.
Thank you for posting.
Christe
60,056 / 50,000
Nov 30, 2007 - 20 15
I write because I can put on paper what I really think.
I write because someday I'll be gone, but I want a part of me to live on
I write because my soul creeps out of my brain and onto my fingertips
I write because I've put it off for long enough
I write because I want to model behavior for my son who is also creative
I write because when I get back to my reality, it doesn't seem so bad
I write because I want you to hear the voices that are in my head too :)
I write because the great literature of tomorrow is being written today (I'm not quite there yet)
I write because my MIL started writing mystery novels after having a full career, if she did it so can I!
I write because I'm ready to put those little bits of me out there for the world to see
I write because........
50,261 / 50,000
Nov 30, 2007 - 20 26
Gee --
I'm starting to think we need to form a tag team writing group!
I love this!
Christee
52,224 / 50,000
Nov 30, 2007 - 22 10
I write because I don't have a choice.
I write because, even if I'm away from a keyboard for a while, characters try to wedge themselves into my mind. Situations are suggested that make me think, "this would be great in this story." I write because if I go very long without writing, I start narrating my life in my head, usually in the third person, like I'm Dr. Doom or something, but slightly less pompous.
I write because of the only reason there IS to write. It's not for the money -- the percentage of writers who make a decent living doing nothing but writing is infinitessimal. It's not to get famous -- the percentage of famous writers is even worse.
I write for the reason that I tell my students whenever they invariably discover that I've published two novels and want to know how I could write something "that long"? (They're both about 90,000 words -- I don't think that's "that long," but I digress.)
I write because I love writing.
I write because not writing is not an option.
50,261 / 50,000
Dec 1, 2007 - 01 42
I bet you're an inspiring teacher.
Congrats on your purple bar.
Christee
50,828 / 50,000
Dec 1, 2007 - 07 17
I write becasue I want people to know about the things that have happned and how they were.
I write becasue I can reveal my inner most thoughts and feeligs on a pgae and I know that if I said them out lud it would kill me.
I write becasue I can and I want to.
Simply put, I write because I love it and I write because I am afraid that my story would never be told without me. and I know that it wouldn't be