Why do I write?
18th February 2018
The short answer, is because I have to! I’d write if I was shut in an attic at the top of a dark castle – but I also want to be read. I don’t just write for myself. I want someone out there to read what I’ve written, to see what I’ve seen in my mind, to experience what I felt, to be immersed in another world and other lives…
F Scott Fitzgerald wrote,
‘You don’t write because you want to say something, you write because you have something to say.’
I believe I have something to say. And I want to share it.
Stephen King said,
‘Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends.’
But actually I do want all those things! More than anything else though, I agree with him when he wrote,
‘[Writing is] about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well. It’s about getting happy.’
And in the end, that’s true. I write to make myself happy.
The full answer to this question has been recorded by the Royal Literary Fund and will be available shortly. In the meantime, I’ve recorded other podcasts for the RLF, and there are many, many wonderful writers you might like to listen to via iTunes or their website.
Why do you write? Or if you don’t, why not?!
