Why We Write

I write for a variety of reasons, and I am sure that other Vocal Creators do as well. I am not sure whether my primary aim is to create something where there was once nothing or to connect with others through my creation. I certainly love connecting with others and love it when they are complimentary about my creations.

In this digital age and with the excellent Vocal Platforma and the various Facebook groups we have the opportunity to create, publish and share very quickly. I remember when I first wanted to write, it was a typewriter and paper, and if you wanted to publish anything it had either to be part of a magazine or joint publication or invest in a run of a thousand books which was very expensive if you didn't have a publisher.

Today I can write this article and share it with you, and you can look at it, agree with me, disagree with me and leave a comment, and then I can reply to you. Commenting has been a great addition to the Vocal model, but we also have it in the Facebook groups, and I discover a lot of stories in those groups.

My reading and writing are not limited to Vocal, and I still maintain my blog. Seven Days In, which these days is based on the books I am reading. Its form is very primitive but it does get a lot of visits (probably mostly from robots).

So I would love to know why you write and what is your main driver to write. With me, it is certainly not money, although the fact that Vocal has made me far more money than any other writing endeavour that I have embarked on is a nice bonus.

I love sharing my work, but sometimes there are things I have to write, either to purge dark feelings or to share happy events, and I do like to try out writing fiction and poetry though I am still not very good in those fields (that is my personal opinion and it does push me to keep trying and get better).

Thank you for reading and let me know your thoughts on why you write.

The video is one I made after visiting my friend Jessica's exhibition many years ago in Newcastle. The music is "Sequence C" by Tangerine Dream from their album "Phaedra"

According to legend, she was the daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë, and the wife of Theseus. Phaedra fell in love with her stepson Hippolytus. After he rejected her advances, she accused him of trying to rape her, causing Theseus to pray to Poseidon to kill him, and then killed herself.