I find the beginning of the school year is always a good time to re-evaluate what I’m doing. To assess where I am in my plans and to realign them with where I am and where I want to go to. This year, as part of that I have been fleshing out my reasons for writing. And I’ve come up with three main reasons why I want to write, and succeed at setting up my author business.
Firstly, is to support my family. The header image on my blog says “Writer and Home-maker” as both parts are important to me. Writing for me is a way I can provide for my family, while also having the flexibility to be at home for my children and take part in their activities. I can volunteer to help at school and not worry about asking my boss if that’s ok. I can fit my writing around everyone else’s schedule. And I can be a positive role model to my children, I can show them how to work hard and achieve results.
Secondly, is to push myself; to find out what I can achieve. To reach the edges of possibility for me. Creating characters and worlds and threading a story through them is a great challenge to do well. I want to keep improving. To keep working on finding ways to speak to the heart of those who read my work. I don’t think I will ever be done with this and I find that so exciting.
Lastly, is to write what I would have liked to read as a teenager. My early teens were not happy years. I used to spend all my free time hidden in the school library, reading. I devoured Anne McCaffrey, Andre Norton, Mercedes Lackey, Michael Moorcock and many more. Fantasy stories were my escape. So I want to write stories that that younger me would have loved to read, that would have given her confidence and inspired her. And that I hope will do the same for people in a similar situation now.
Now, with this clarified vision and purpose I can go out there and rock on with my writing. I want to finish the first draft of the story I’m writing and get the first draft of my next book finished before Christmas. That is a tough deadline to meet, so I’d better get cracking!
I have trouble motivating myself to write even my monthly blog posts, and my dream is to write a mystery novel. I plan to dig deep to get at my reasons Why I Write, like you did. That would give me the motivation I need to keep at it. Plus, I recently told some people I’ll tell them how much I write each month. Being held accountable and really understanding my motivation to write should get me back on track. So thank you.
You’re welcome! It’s amazing how the small bits add up once you start writing consistently.
I like the phrases “To reach the edge of possibility” and “to write what I would have liked to read”. Those are good guidelines for any author.
Thanks! I hope I live up to them now!
All good reasons to write! I also enjoy writing the books I would have liked to have read as a teenager. I read a LOT of YA/NA books. ?
Yes, I like reading YA/NA books too
I too buried myself in Fantasy stories (luckily, figuratively and not literally – especially since the Anne McCaffrey books were on the top shelf in my library and I’m too short to reach it!) I miss the days where I could finish a whole story in a day or two!
I want to write a fantasy story that I would have loved to read, but my writing always comes out more contemporary than I had in mind, so my goal is to bring those two closer together.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and good luck on your work!
Thanks! All the best with your writing too
I hope all your projects are proceeding apace, and I also hope you won’t b disappointed if that Christmas “deadline” extends past the holidays. I hear so many writers talk about writing fast–completing books in 3 or 4 months–that I hope we haven’t lost sight of the fact that quality not speed is the real arbiter of good literature.
Thanks! I’m struggling to finish the current one, as I’m too excited to begin the other!