Why I write

I know this is a fairly standard post for most writers. I think that there are as many reasons for writing as there are writers. Whether it’s for the hoped for prestige or because we go slightly nuts if we don’t write, I think why we write is as important as what we write.

Let me explain.

I need to write. I am one of those who must write. I wake up with the need to express something, anything, on paper (or screen). This means that while I procrastinate with the best of them, I still have to put words together into sentences that hopefully having meaning to others. I have sat at my computer for the past two hours waiting for inspiration to hit. You see, for me, the urge to write doesn’t always come with a clue of what I am going to write. So I just fill a page.

One of my favourite sayings comes from Pablo Picasso ‘Inspiration exists, it just has to find you working.’ So, even though I don’t know what I am going to write, I sit down and just do it. Inspiration is usually kind and shows up fairly promptly and then comes the second part of why I write.

I write because I love it.  I love the rush.  I love the way words appear as if by magic (especially on days when I haven’t slept much thanks to small baby and health issues).  I love that no matter how annoyed or stressed out I may feel when I start writing, by the end of it I feel happier.  I feel good.  I think writing may well be an addiction and I am totally hooked.

I think why I write shows in my work.  People like my work due to the flow and ebb of the words.  That flow comes from the love and appreciation I have for the written word.  My need for writing certainly shows in my first drafts but as I cut away the words written to fill a page, I find a sparkle or two in the rest.  That sparkle that reminds me why I write.

Because when inspiration hits, there is no feeling like it.  Anyone else an inspiration junkie?