Monday, August 22, 2011

Why Write?

photo of little girl writingFirst, a shout out to David Powers King. A truly awesome person! He posted some awards for me on his blog. If you haven't checked him out, do it. He is working on some pretty amazing stuff.  Now on to my post . . .

  Why write?  The question has plagued me for years.  It bothered me in elementary school when my friends wanted to play and I was too busy writing my mystery novel The ABC Murders (I was a big fan of Agatha Christie and apparently plagiarism).
   It reared its ugly head again, in the sixth grade, when my parents brought my dark poetry into question (clearly I had issues). 
  It even cropped up in high school when my friends wanted me to use my elective for an aerobics class and I stubbornly opted for creative writing.
    It taunted me in college when faced with the dilemma of picking a more practical degree like English Education, or following my heart and diving
into the literary side of things.
   I practically skipped to the registrar office, filling my schedule with delightfully unrealistic courses like: Young Adult Literature, Fiction Writing, Children's Literature, Literary Analysis, English Literature, American Literature, and Multicultural Literature.  To name a few.
  So here I sit, years later, my impractical degree stuffed in a closet somewhere, with an unfinished novel, a mountain of frustration, and a pile of housework giving me a come hither look. 
  Even after all these years, the question is the same.  I know the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over again, expecting different results, but I think my answer lies in the complicated love life of Sheryl Crow.
  Just like she kept going back to her cheating lover, I return to the heartless world of writing.  It is after all, My Favorite Mistake.

What about you?  Why write?


32 comments:

  1. Because I don't know how to do anything else, at least nothing that fills me with such equal measures of joy and frustration. (Except Motherhood, but two is enough!)

    That child is beautiful by the way.

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  2. Because the voices won't stop talking in my head and the only way I can get them to shut up is writing. Oh, and I love creating something from nothing. ;0)

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  3. You are too funny. You obviously have a talent for this so you've got to keep it up! I love your writing. Your voice comes through so well.

    I have to write so that it can finally produce results. I just can't give up because one day I have to finally say "I did it!"

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  4. Hello, fellow campaigner! Your blog is so pretty!!!

    Whenever someone asks me this question, I respond like so: "because I have to". It's just this thing I have to do because I absolutely love it.

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  5. I write because I love to. But really because I have to. I can't NOT do it. Right now it's my job but even if it wasn't I'd be doing it, like I have most of my life!

    By the way: hello, fellow campaigner! I love your blog layout :-)

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  6. Hello Missi Morris! (Haha, is it okay if I call you Missi?) Im a fellow Campaigner and were part of the same group! Just wanted to say hi! (and that your blog is gorgeous!)

    Personally, I write for acouple reasons (which I actually just talked about in a post on my blog). I write because I love to do it and one day hope to be published and share my story with the world! :D

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  7. Hi Missi! I'm in your YA group for Rach Writes' Platform-Building Campaign. Looking forward to getting to know you!

    I write because it's incredibly fun and hard and frustrating and rewarding. There's nothing quite like the rush of creating a world that wouldn't exist with you :)

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  8. Just stopped by to say hi - I'm in your YA group.

    I write because I must - the stories just seem to keep coming. (And I loved good ol' Agatha too!)

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  9. I'm in your YA group and stopped by to say hi!

    I guess I write because the 'voices' in my head have a death grip on my brain and there's no relief unless I do what they say. They're kind of mean like that. (grins)

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  10. Hey, I'm in your group! I love the blog, it's super cute! And I write because I don't know what to do with myself- talking to myself seems out of the question.

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  11. Hi, another visitor from your YA group stopping by. I think the reason I write is to stop time, to capture it somehow. Can't be done, I know. Looking forward to reading more of your posts. Attractive blog btw.

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  12. Just stopped by to say hi, we're in the same YA group! Nice to meet you.

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  13. Looks like we're in the same YA group! Love your blog - tons of great posts here (will have to poke around for a few, for sure!)!
    Looking forward to getting to know you better over the next several weeks.

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  14. Sarah, Jenny, and Abby thanks for your comments! You guys are awesome.

    My new campaigning buddies,
    Thanks for stopping by. I'm excited to work with all of you!

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  15. Hey there! I'm in your YA group! Your blog design is completely adorable by the way.

    I write because I like to see things outside of my head. It's the same reason I do art. When I see my imaginings outside of my head, they might as well be real.

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  16. I'm in your group in the campaign. So nice to meet you.

    I live to write. It's the best way to explain it. Writing is my calling, my purpose, and brings me more joy than any other profession I've already done.

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  17. Hi, I'm in your YA group and thought I'd stop by to see your blog. Love it! I couldn't get the follow to work on the sidebar. I'll try back later.

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  18. I'm in the campaign with you! I write on my blog, because I find it therapeutic :) But I write short stories, essays, and YA, because it is what I absolutely love to do!

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  19. Nice to meet you. I've been writing for a long time too. The urge may die down for a time but it comes back full force. It was that way for me. I write because the stories keep coming.

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  20. Missi! You are too funny. You know you always have a cheerleader in me! (Go! Go! Go!) and a beta reader too!

    You are so much better equipped at this craft. Don't be surprised when I come crying at your door for help.

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  21. Yeah, the Google Connect was working this time. I'm a follower now. :)

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  22. J.L. Campbell,
    Nice to meet you! Thanks for stopping by my blog.

    Shelly,
    If you come crying at my door, then there is no hope for any of us! Thanks for being my cheerleader. Can you do backflips?

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  23. This is for you Missi!
    I had 'the author' record it for me.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5zOsyE1LBE&feature=related

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  24. Shelly,
    Tell 'the author' he shouldn't laugh at you, that took some serious skill!

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  25. Hi! I'm a fellow Campaigner. It's nice to meet you!

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  26. Hey there fellow campaigner! I love this post. It's always fun to get a peek into other writers lives and discover why they keep coming back to writing:)

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  27. Hi, I'm a fellow campaigner. Looking forward to reading more of your blog. Love the question "why write?".

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  28. Hi there- New follower here. I came over from Shelly's blog. I write for enjoyment, for wanting to make readers feel more than the pages they flip.

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  29. Hi Summer! Thanks for stoppping by my blog. It is always fun to meet a fellow blogger!

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  30. Hi Missi! I'm in your YA group for the Writer's Campaign.
    I write because I love my characters and I want to tell their stories. Also, they're really obnoxious when I'm not writing. ;)

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  31. Hi Amanda! I'm excited to campaign with you!

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