Why Do I Write?
There is no easy answer for this question. I could say a hundred different reasons and still be no closer to answering it as I was at the beginning.
For me, writing is like breathing. You don't choose to do it. You don't even know you're doing it most of the time until you suddenly start panting from exertion or realize that you've been hit upside the head and can't catch a breath.
Writing is like that...
You start writing and just keep on writing until you hit a rough patch or have a really great day where the creative juices are just overwhelming! Then you sit back and remember that you're only human and that you are, in a sense, breathing. It isn't always easy and it isn't always hard. Writing is like a dance and hand to hand combat all at the same time, but if persevered through, totally worth every gallon of blood, sweat, and tears.
I hated the process of learning to read when I was younger. I would go so far as to hide the textbooks and threaten to burn them (I was already a violent author even back then!). But I can vividly remember the first time I actually was able to read a book cover to cover. And suddenly entire worlds were open for me to explore.
Some of my best friends are fictional.
Books such as Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie, the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas, Dragons in our Midst by Bryan Davis, and the Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Pearson have made me into the person I am today, for better or worse, as I hope one day my own characters will do for my readers. These characters who have become not only friends, but the best of confidants, are role models and examples of how to and how not to live your life. As readers, we root for the heroes, loathe the bad guys (unless they are Loki, in which case you fall madly in love with them), and ride along with them on a journey to answer some of life's greatest and hardest questions. And writing is the same journey, only a lot harder for some ridiculous reason.
For as long as I can remember I have loved stories and come up with them easily. Movies, Music, Dancing, Books, anything and everything that has a story is of personal interest to me. I can look at a person passing on the street and see a story in their eyes and that kind of view point to life is priceless. Writing came naturally to me, but being a writer didn't always.
Thanks to the One Year Adventure Novel curriculum I was able to complete my first novel and am currently on the path to publishing it. And I can tell you that every step of the way was worth it. I have met some of the most amazing people and some of the most epic characters along the way and I wouldn't trade that for anything. So if I had to answer the question "why do you write?" I would simply say this...
"We are a forgetful people. We need storytellers. We need someone to lay the drama of God's love before us. We need to be reminded of the uncommon grace of God."
Besides, the perfect book I have been looking for all my life hasn't been written...yet.
Maybe I'll write it, maybe you'll write it. Either way we can all write our stories and we can all share our tales of adventure and redemption.
Why Do You Write?
~ Brianna
What Did I Listen To While Writing This:
Here I Am and I Will Always Return by Bryan Adams (Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron Soundtrack)
Flying by James Newtown Howard (Peter Pan Soundtrack)
We Need Heroes by Twelve Titans Music
