To write or not to write

There is an Ezine article that gives some reasons why to write.  I'm sure they are trying to get people to write.  Publishers then would have something to publish.  They give reasons like, "Its your dream", "You just might have a story worth telling", "Nothing ventured, nothing gained", "If you're not creative enough to write fiction, write something else", etc.  I really don't like any of these.

But why write?  There are tons upon tons of books out there.  Many free, many cheap, and some from mainstream authors.  But its not about them.  Its about you.  Why did Michael Angelo sculpture? Why did Leonardo Da Vinci create?  What made them start?

For me its time.  Its time to set thoughts to paper (or formatted text on computer memory).  Mid life, I suppose, where one contemplates their own value and how life has gone so far and where its going.  I want to leave a mark on this Earth.  A dent in the soil if you will.  Something to say I was here.  Something other than bathroom or subway graffiti.

OK.  Well that'a a why, but why really?  If your determined to make a difference why writing?  Why not art?  After all a picture is worth a thousand words.  Apart from giving in to laziness, are we afraid of a thousand words?  If were not afraid to write, ask yourself why writing and not some other form of art.  For me its a crusade of sorts.  I'm a visual learner.  I like theater, I like movies, I like plays.  More than that I like plots, characters, scenarios, ACTION!  Hmmm, getting carried away there.  What I'm trying to say is that there are few, oh so few, visual writers out there.  What do I mean?  There are things I hate about writing.  I hate long prolonged descriptions that lead no where.  I hate detailed that's meaningless.  If your going to tell a story, and that is what writing is, then tell the #$%^&%# story.  So many writers are so detailed they loose my interest very fast.

We all have imagination.  Some people prefer to visualize a scene, some to hear a scene, some like the meticulous meaningless details.  The fact is we are wired differently and we like to learn differently.  So whatever writer you are there is an audience out there for you.

So why write?  For fun? Well fun is a complex thing.  It may not be fun to write, but the finished product may be fun.  Exploring characters and new worlds may be fun.  Creating alternate realities or what if scenarios involving thermal nuclear devices, or just a simple yes or no in an "be my spouse" question.

Inevitably, "my dear Watson", any creative venture is an expression of yourself.  Of what you are and what your connected with.  And its no different for writing.  To read a writer's work is to explore the their soul.

A good piece of literature is like a sonnet, or a symphony.  It brings you from doldrums to excitement, fear, tears, and manipulates your emotions.  The more emotion you express in your writing the more the readers and responses.

Why do I write?  I write for the love of writing.