Why We Write



I went to the NaNoWriMo Portland Region wrap up event last night. Probably about 30 - 35 people there. A lot of writers read from their work, and I was struck with the amazing variety of work and writing styles.

I tend to get very wrapped up in my genre -- fantasy -- and forget the vast amount of literary talent out there. I heard pieces of everything from a sweeping historical account of a major European city to a new take on vampires to a western adventure to a literary novel to.... Well, you name it. The styles ranged from funny to snarky to serious to lyric to straight-forward to... Again, you name it. It was amazing.

As I let the words of the other writers wash over me and spent the night ruminating on what I'd listened to, I thought a lot about why we write. I can't speak for all writers, but for me, I write because I can't not write. I write because I have stories in my head that have to come out. I need to tell the stories. The genre isn't as important as the stories; for me, fantasy gives me some mechanism for exploring the stories. The stories -- the stories -- they are the important part.

The people I heard last night have other stories to tell. Some are similar to mine, but none are the same. I believe in God, and I believe we are created, spiritual beings on an earthly journey, and I think that God created writers to tell the stories of the human condition. Just as he created people who can design buildings and people who can engineer cars and people who can do my taxes, he created writers to tell stories for future generations. And because all of the stories are important, he gave all of us different ones. I may not agree with all of the stories, and I may not read them all, but I can appreciate the effort, talent, and aching ecstasy of drawing the stories out of our heads and onto that blank page.

So why do we write? We write because the paper is blank. We write to fill it.