Why We Write

[oracne]

I know there are those who write only to earn money, but most writers I know also write to express or fulfill themselves in some way, even if their income is dependent upon it, and of course there are those who write only for personal fulfillment, some who show their writing to others and some who don't. I want to go a little deeper than that.

Comments

[ellen_fremedon]

6. Power. I can create worlds, populate them, and make the people in them do anything I want. I am a god! MWAH-HA-HA-HA!

[keilexandra]

I'm still all about 1. at the moment. It's a good long-term motivator, perhaps not so much short-term.

[sartorias]

Clear back when I was six years old, and laboriously made books out of paper towels, writing has given me intense pleasure. I guess it's that desire to live another life--as many lives as I can.

[veejane]

I take a psychotic pleasure in manipulating characters on the page. Also, their lives have a habit of being more interesting and more clearly thematic than mine.

Sometimes I write to find out where I am going with something, but that's not always the case (and even when it is, it's sometimes the case only in retrospect).

[oracne]

I find out a lot of things about my intentions in retrospect. It makes rereading very interesting sometimes.

[rushthatspeaks]

I write to figure out what I am trying to say.

I also write because I can't imagine not doing it-- it isn't an automatic reflex for everybody?