Creative Question 22 – Writing

CQ 22 – Why do you write?

Writing is the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do. It’s in my blood. Hell, it may be my blood. (checks) yes, there does seem to be some inky tar coursing through my veins. As a child, I would write my own fairy tales or stories based on mythology. In my early teens, I wanted to be a journalist. By high school, I was into writing poetry. In college, I learned the art of flash and short fiction. Now I even dabble with drabbles and novellas, and yes, still poetry.

I’ve rarely ever written for an audience. I usually write because I have all these characters running around in my head begging to have their stories told. I figure if I write something that I would enjoy reading, someone else might enjoy it too. What I don’t write for is publication. I could and probably should, but I am not that great a writer and I am just happy with the small audience I have here on WP. Truthfully, I am still in the learning process for writing longer fiction. The fact that I now have three completed novellas still surprises me. It also encourages me that perhaps some day, I will write an entire novel.

I also do a bit of journal writing. This is something I have done on paper since I was a teenager. If I’d kept all of my notebooks from those years until now, I’d probably have about 100 of them. Sadly, I burnt all my childhood journals, and I’ve lost other journals during moves throughout my life. These days, I do most of my journal writing online. Journal writing helps me to work through issues that are bothering me or to reflect on life in general. I love prompted questions and often seek them out, like this one from Kate.