Why I Like Writing
(and wish I could do it full-time)
It flows for me.
At this hobbyist-style stage, I'm pumping out the tales and not worried about deadlines. I rarely have "writer's block." Sometimes I don't know where a story's going when I start it, but doggone if it doesn't start happening, and when it "pops," it's there. It's an awesome feeling.
Affirmation
We all seek affirmation in our lives, do we not? Unless our ego is so inflated that all we need is our own affirmation, and that's quite unhealthy and dangerous. So when I tell a story that resonates and people tell me, "OMG! Couldn't put it down!" it makes life worth living. (Right now, we won't talk about the "meh" or "boring!" reactions.)
And now we come to...
LACK OF COMPETITION
Sure, I know that maybe Gracious Host Stephen King and Dean Koontz might have a bet out there, "Who's going to get a million sales first from this date?" That's not what I'm talking about.
In my own job, I compete against, well, competitors. I want to work hard, I want to hone my skills, I want to stay on top of current professional trends, and I want to outperform my competitors so that when a potential consumer is saying, "This other jasper or Grandpa?" I want them to choose "Grandpa."
Story-telling is not like that. Just speaking of Uncle Stevie and Dean, you don't go to the bookstore or online shopping and choose one over the other. If you want to read them, you buy their stuff. Story sold, and case closed. Competition isn't part of it.
I immodestly think (because people have told me) that my stories stack up to good-selling authors. Well, grand. But I'm not in competition with them. If you like my stories, you'll buy them. If you like their stuff, you'll buy them. It's not like you're agonizing whether to buy Downy or the store label brand of softener.
But mainly why I like writing.... .
It fulfills me in a way that a wage-earning job can't. When I'm closing in, and the imagery is where i want it, the threads have been tied up, the suspense points have been made, the characters fleshed out, the resolution achieved, and (I hope) the reader is wowed, there's no better feeling. Really, there isn't. It's hard to explain. I've never hit a home run, I've never scored a touchdown in a real game, I haven't bested others in a one-on-one duel that I remember, but typing "The End" when you mean it is a feeling that must be like that. It's inexpressible triumph, no matter how much work still remains after.
People will buy my titles, or not. Regardless, I'm going to keep writing. Whether it's for money, or to keep my family (including my very own Number One Fan) happy, or just because the story is begging to be told, it's going to end up in print. That's how it goes. In the current vernacular, that's how I roll.
So....
I have my next scheduled release. It's already written. It's how this writer rolls.
(and wish I could do it full-time)
It flows for me.
At this hobbyist-style stage, I'm pumping out the tales and not worried about deadlines. I rarely have "writer's block." Sometimes I don't know where a story's going when I start it, but doggone if it doesn't start happening, and when it "pops," it's there. It's an awesome feeling.
Affirmation
We all seek affirmation in our lives, do we not? Unless our ego is so inflated that all we need is our own affirmation, and that's quite unhealthy and dangerous. So when I tell a story that resonates and people tell me, "OMG! Couldn't put it down!" it makes life worth living. (Right now, we won't talk about the "meh" or "boring!" reactions.)
And now we come to...
LACK OF COMPETITION
Sure, I know that maybe Gracious Host Stephen King and Dean Koontz might have a bet out there, "Who's going to get a million sales first from this date?" That's not what I'm talking about.
In my own job, I compete against, well, competitors. I want to work hard, I want to hone my skills, I want to stay on top of current professional trends, and I want to outperform my competitors so that when a potential consumer is saying, "This other jasper or Grandpa?" I want them to choose "Grandpa."
Story-telling is not like that. Just speaking of Uncle Stevie and Dean, you don't go to the bookstore or online shopping and choose one over the other. If you want to read them, you buy their stuff. Story sold, and case closed. Competition isn't part of it.
I immodestly think (because people have told me) that my stories stack up to good-selling authors. Well, grand. But I'm not in competition with them. If you like my stories, you'll buy them. If you like their stuff, you'll buy them. It's not like you're agonizing whether to buy Downy or the store label brand of softener.
But mainly why I like writing.... .
It fulfills me in a way that a wage-earning job can't. When I'm closing in, and the imagery is where i want it, the threads have been tied up, the suspense points have been made, the characters fleshed out, the resolution achieved, and (I hope) the reader is wowed, there's no better feeling. Really, there isn't. It's hard to explain. I've never hit a home run, I've never scored a touchdown in a real game, I haven't bested others in a one-on-one duel that I remember, but typing "The End" when you mean it is a feeling that must be like that. It's inexpressible triumph, no matter how much work still remains after.
People will buy my titles, or not. Regardless, I'm going to keep writing. Whether it's for money, or to keep my family (including my very own Number One Fan) happy, or just because the story is begging to be told, it's going to end up in print. That's how it goes. In the current vernacular, that's how I roll.
So....
I have my next scheduled release. It's already written. It's how this writer rolls.