Why Do I Write?

Lately, I've been giving a great deal of thought as to why I write. Here's what I came up with.

A great many years ago, I sold my soul to the devil and became a very successful freelance copywriter. Out of a pressing need to support my family, I did it for the money. However, that is all behind me now. I got divorced, twice, and the children all grew up and fled the nest to live independent lives. And yet, I continue to write none stop all day long. What's more, there is very little money in it. It's what you call chicken feed. So, if not for the money, then for what exactly do I write?

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that it goes all the way back to my early childhood when I very first learned to write. What I almost instantly fell in love with was learning to move a pen across a blank page. I loved cursive writing. It was like creating a Jackson Pollock work of art with his incredibly expressive action painting.

However, it is perhaps best explained as a love of Calligraphy. Here's what Wikipedia says about that activity.

"Calligraphy (from Greek καλλιγραφία (kalligraphía) 'beautiful writing') is a visual art related to writing and is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument.[1]: 17  Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious, and skillful manner".[1]: 18" 

I loved learning to control the movement of the pen to create the shapes of letters. And I loved then learning to link letters to create words and meaning. The words named the objects of my world. A is for Apple, etc, etc.

Next came the joy of linking those words to create sentences. And those sentences were full of meaning far beyond any object. And then I created paragraphs, chapters, and complete stories. In time, I learned to create not just meaning, but whole new worlds describing things you could only imagine. And here I am still, doing the self-same thing.

I never get tired of the sheer joy of creating stories using all the constituent parts of writing. After I got the basics off to heart, then came a broadening of vocabulary and literary devices such as alliteration, hyperbole, metaphor onomatopoeia, oxymorons, simile, mood, and tone, to name but a few.

And in learning these things, I was able to enrich what I wrote with color and texture, to create emotional and intellectual ideas and stimuli. Who would have thought you could do all that, and a lot more besides, with a simple pen and piece of blank paper? It's like music, there are only seven notes, but what endless possibilities we have to create so much beauty.

And so if I ask myself why do I write, I have to say, it is because I love the process of creation, as well as the end result. I read back what I have written and I say to myself, "Wow, did I really create all that beauty?" And so I do it also because there is a very deeply felt sense of achievement. And if somebody reads what I have written and gets something from it, well that my friends, is the icing on top of the cake.

Imagine having the power to make somebody feel joyfulness, or sadness, or something which is awesome and inspiring. Or how about changing the way people see the world? Those are the things I like to read in the work of others, so I figure if that is what I like as a reader, then that is what I should aim for as a writer. Remember, the pen is mightier than the sword.

If after all of this, I happen to make a little money, then all the better. It means I have done a good job. It is the approval that we all seek in the process of looking for validation of our being, not only in what we do, but also in how we do it.

If your sole purpose in writing is to make lots of money, the chances are that you will be poor for the rest of your life. You have to do it for the love of it. Learn to do it well and the money will follow. Make money your last objective.

You know we all see how certain footballers and songwriters make millions. However, in the beginning, the reason they started to practice those things was for the love of the activity. The loadsa money came later when they got good at it. And even after they made their millions, they had to continue to do what made them rich and famous. I do not for one moment believe continuing was to make even more millions. No, they just love doing it.

Sir Paul McCartney once asked Willy Nelson what he thought about retirement. Willy replied "Retirement from what, Paul?" You see retirement is what you do when you want to finish working for a living. But what those guys do is not working. They don't call it playing football or music for nothing. It's because what they are doing is playing, not working. And as the saying goes, if you love what you do, you will never work a single day in your entire life.

So remember, do it for the love of it, not for the money. In time, the money will come all on its own.