"I could claim any number of high-flown reasons for writing, just as you can explain certain dogs' behavior... But maybe, it's that they're dogs, and that's what dogs do."
—Amy Hempel
I love that quote to bits. It just gives me hope whenever I'm feeling all mopey and doubtful about my own reasons for writing.
I write because I'm a writer! Because I'd explode if I didn't!
Granted, there are plenty of people out there who have...you know. Real reasons for writing. I'm glad for them. And that's not to say I don't have reasons. Or, real reasons, as it were. It's just nice to know there's a fallback. I write because I love writing. And that's grrrrrrreat. (Yes, I'm looking for a frosted flakes endorsement. Please call me, Tony.)
Sometimes I get a little stressed out because I keep thinking about what the end game is. Am I going to be successful? Am I even going to try? (why yes, that is a first draft sitting on your desk, you ever going to edit that sucker and get it out into the world? Coward) Because everything always seems like it needs to be for a purpose. And if it isn't, it has no value.
Which is putting waaaaay more stress on my writing than is necessary.
It also drives me nuts when people ask me what I'm writing. Mostly because I'm such an antisocial hack and I hate talking to people. But, also, because they're never just happy with 'Oh, just a story' or 'A story about Frankenstein as a preteen'. They always ask 'what for?' 'A journal, a novel? Are you working on a paper?' I always feel like I have to justify what I'm doing. And I really don't.
They think it has to be a part of something, I don't know, because people still associate writing with school? Maybe they didn't enjoy it? Hell, I didn't enjoy school writing, but that's just because if you make stuff up, it's frowned upon. Unless you're really really good at it. What? You didn't know Benjamin Franklin posed nude for the French Court in the 18th century? That dude was stacked. Look it up, it's on Wikipedia.
Well, it's not now, but it will be when I edit that sucker in there.
Some people play golf (I'm incapable of golfing). Or angry birds(actually, I suck at this game too). I write! (it's still questionable where my skill level is there. Slightly higher than golf...)
I write because it's fun. No, seriously. Stop looking at me like that.
And while this quote goes completely against my whole 'It doesn't matter if you're successful as long as your happy' since it implies the need to be paid. It still amuses me.
"If you're going to be crazy, you have to get paid for it or else you're going to be locked up." —Hunter S. Thompson
I love that quote to bits. It just gives me hope whenever I'm feeling all mopey and doubtful about my own reasons for writing.
I write because I'm a writer! Because I'd explode if I didn't!
Granted, there are plenty of people out there who have...you know. Real reasons for writing. I'm glad for them. And that's not to say I don't have reasons. Or, real reasons, as it were. It's just nice to know there's a fallback. I write because I love writing. And that's grrrrrrreat. (Yes, I'm looking for a frosted flakes endorsement. Please call me, Tony.)
Sometimes I get a little stressed out because I keep thinking about what the end game is. Am I going to be successful? Am I even going to try? (why yes, that is a first draft sitting on your desk, you ever going to edit that sucker and get it out into the world? Coward) Because everything always seems like it needs to be for a purpose. And if it isn't, it has no value.
Which is putting waaaaay more stress on my writing than is necessary.
It also drives me nuts when people ask me what I'm writing. Mostly because I'm such an antisocial hack and I hate talking to people. But, also, because they're never just happy with 'Oh, just a story' or 'A story about Frankenstein as a preteen'. They always ask 'what for?' 'A journal, a novel? Are you working on a paper?' I always feel like I have to justify what I'm doing. And I really don't.
They think it has to be a part of something, I don't know, because people still associate writing with school? Maybe they didn't enjoy it? Hell, I didn't enjoy school writing, but that's just because if you make stuff up, it's frowned upon. Unless you're really really good at it. What? You didn't know Benjamin Franklin posed nude for the French Court in the 18th century? That dude was stacked. Look it up, it's on Wikipedia.
Well, it's not now, but it will be when I edit that sucker in there.
Some people play golf (I'm incapable of golfing). Or angry birds(actually, I suck at this game too). I write! (it's still questionable where my skill level is there. Slightly higher than golf...)
I write because it's fun. No, seriously. Stop looking at me like that.
And while this quote goes completely against my whole 'It doesn't matter if you're successful as long as your happy' since it implies the need to be paid. It still amuses me.
"If you're going to be crazy, you have to get paid for it or else you're going to be locked up." —Hunter S. Thompson
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