I write because I love to write. I love to tell stories. I love the process of figuring out a story and bringing the few ideas from little pieces floating around to a fully formed thing with beginning, middle and end. I spend an amount of time trying to sell my work There are a lot of sites and classes out there that talk about how to write to sell. I don’t do that because, while I like to sell books, what feeds my joy is the writing. What feeds my joy is having people read and enjoy my work.
So what?
Why write this?
I hope to convince a few people out there to write. It is an enjoyable act. I like that word – enjoyable. Joy at the core. Able at the end.
You are able to create joy.
You don’t need much. You need a writing implement and some paper. If you have a keyboard – swell. The goal is not to write a book. It is certainly not to sell a million copies. The goal is to observe some part of your life. Some thing. Some feeling. Some experience. To capture it. To put it down and look at it from different angles. It is an essentially creative act. It is an act of creation.
In these times of uncertainty (I’m writing this March 21, 2020, at the beginning of the virus outbreak), you are in touch with feelings. Grab them. Put them down.
A story may come. A conclusion may come. If so, fine. If not, fine. Sit down and write. It is an act of joy. I suggest not tying the act to a conclusion – a result. Write for the pleasure of doing it. Just as we live for the pleasure of the experience.