More On: Why Write? Excerpt from my book: A Friendly Guide to writing and ghostwriting
In order to frame the fears that plague every writer I know, I put together a list of questions that we ask ourselves when we’re looking for the courage to begin a new project.
• How do I make friends with my inner critic so I can start writing?
• How do I approach the page with anticipation instead of dread?
• How do I organize my material into individual chapters?
• How do I impart hard earned knowledge without sounding arrogant?
• How do I write about other people without alienating or exposing them?
• How do I find the courage to tell the truth?
• How do I write about sex without being too graphic?
• How do I write about death without sounding morbid?
• How do I know whether my writing is good or if it sucks?
• How do I know if I’ve written too much or too little?
A character named Johann Veraguth in Hermann Hesse’s book, “Roshalde,” says, “I paint because I have no tail to wag.”
To me, that means he needs an outlet for his emotions. The act of writing in all of its varied forms can provide that. It has always been my aspiration and my inspiration. It has become a conduit for my soul’s expression and I’ve hung in there long enough to make a career out of it. Whether you’re looking for a life path, a publishing deal, a diversion from everyday challenges or a way to solidify your random thoughts, there are many reasons to write.
Here are my top ten.
I write to:
1. Ease my suffering and frustration
2. Tell my stories
3. Learn things I didn’t know about myself and other people
4. Develop Patience
5. Build stamina
6. Separate fantasy from reality
7. Make peace with my past
8. Lose track of time and place
9. Leave behind a legacy
10. Find out what I’m really feeling.
I caution you here that while spewing your spite and vitriol on the page can be highly therapeutic, it’s ultimately not a good idea to dump blame or bad luck on your readers. In the long run, it would be far better to edit out those sentiments. I’m not suggesting you sugarcoat your feelings, but there is a way to tell your truth without sounding like a bitter person who’s looking for revenge or feeling sorry for yourself. Whether you’re writing a self-help book, a memoir, a ghostwrite, an historical account or a cookbook, report what happened in detail but don’t find fault with other people on the page unless it adds something essential to the theme of your book. It usually doesn’t.
Pearl of Writing Wisdom:
Refrain from slandering others in your writings.
They will get their just desserts from living their lives.
They need no assistance from you.
Everyone has a reason to write but some of them are worthwhile and others not so much. A twenty-one-year-old man told me that he wanted to get published so he could brag about it to his friends. I admired his honesty with himself but not his motive. A woman told me she didn’t care what she put on the page as long as it was making her lots of money. I told her she was in the wrong business. Someone else wanted to write a book about finding the right relationship but he wasn’t in one. “How do you know about a topic that has nothing to do with you?” I asked him.
“I just know,” he said, nodding his head.
It’s clear that if you’re writing for approval, wealth or to teach something that you hardly know, you’re on the wrong track. Writing has so much more to it than getting attention and praise.
Anais Nin said, “We write to taste life, in the moment and in retrospection.”
Feminist author, Gloria Steinem, says, “Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don’t feel like I should be doing something else.”
When you make it into the writing zone, you’re fashioning your own private world where you get to make up the rules, define the boundaries, and you can stay there as long as you like and leave whenever you want. You are judge and jury of your internal reality. You decide who is welcome and who is not, who is guilty and who isn’t. No one gets to add or subtract anything in your world without first getting permission from you.
How often does that happen in life, where you are the sole creator a reality that is yours and yours alone? Whether you feel ecstatic or intimidated, just remember that the ultimate reward is in the doing. It has to be, because there’s no telling if it’ll become a blockbuster bestseller or end up on the remainders table. There’s no telling if thousands of people will read your work or you’ll be showing it to a few close friends. Just do it for your own sake and see what happens. When you stop second guessing yourself and your abilities, the world of writing can be a safe haven and a place to feel welcome. Don’t let your judgments soil the purity of your artistic expression. Use it to have compassion for yourself. Use your writing time as an outlet to express your emotions and an escape hatch when the world seems overwhelming.
These are the reasons that I write.