Thread: Why do you write?

I imagine this has been asked before, but I'm not just talking about personal reasons. What practical purpose does your writing have? Do you entertain others? Do you teach? Do you inform? Does it make you money? What does your writing accomplish?

Writing helps me think and remember. And it takes the edge off real life. That's all the practicality I need.

I entertain myself. Sometimes it earns me money, but that's not why I do it. I'm not being noble. If it ever earns me enough money to quit my sucky job, that might become the reason I do it. Or at least part of it. Either way, self-entertainment is good enough.

Writing gives form to the sea of thoughts that go through my mind. But more than that, it helps me understand myself. As I write more and more of my story, I'm stunned to see how much of myself is in it. The way my characters act gives me insight into my own motivations and personality, and that's simply invaluable.

I write because I love the way it takes me on an imaginary journey and things seem to come out of nowhere as I write. But also I like to string sentences together and spent many years writing in my jobs and when I was a student I was suprised at how much I enjoyed writing essays and reports. It also distracts me from a lot of crap in my life and allows me to channel my anger at some things, and forget bad times. And I love my characters.

For the babes, of course.


I write because I have to. Yeah, that's a cringe-worthy authorish sentence, but that's just how it is.
Perhaps it's not the act of writing itself, but I think that it's fair to say that I'm a storyteller, at least in some minuscule, pathetic, fetal form.

Because one of these days it's going to make me rich.

Not sure. Guess I have to...can't afford film, actors, etc.

because i'm narcissistic and like to show off in front of myself.

Narcissism, elitism, giving people ideas about the meaning and purpose of life, self-discovery, bragging rights, etc. I'm an english literature/composition teacher, too, so writing helps me learn more about the subject I teach. Also, it's a more fun and meaningful pass-time to me than playing video games or watching tv. And it makes me smarter and helps me organize my mind.

You asked for practical reasons rather than personal reasons, but I would argue that it's mostly a selfish endeavor. Nonetheless, I would also argue that even narcissism and elitism have some practicality in that they engender some amount of pride and self-confidence -- thus making one a little better at life.

Fame and fortune -- sure, fantasies are fun, but I'm far too practical to rest weight on such flights.

These are good questions.

As for myself, I'm not really sure why I write (or try to write). My compulsion to write seems to exist maddeningly independent of my common sense. As far as practical purposes, I'm not sure there are any practical purposes - unless you're writing some sort of international treaty, or maybe, nutrition information on food packaging or something. I am still trying to figure this all out myself, so I'm your grain of salt.

I write because I like the stories in my head and I want to express them in some form. I have no talent to draw and no money to make films, so I took the cheapest and most available route - writing.

Because, I can't not write. I have too much going on in my head, I need to do something with it! :0)

I write because I find the relationship between the writer and the reader to be nothing short of amazing.

Just think about it: you have an idea, an electrical spark in your brain. You form it into words and place those words onto a sheet of paper. Then you show that paper to another human being. And what happens? The process reverses itself. Your words get lifted off the page and sucked into the brain of the reader, registered as an electrical spark, which then bursts, like fireworks, in the reader's mind: he now experiences your idea as his own.

Oh yeah... and it'd also be great to be published. : )

I may care about what someone writes -- I really don't care why.