Writers can be sorted into a few different types based on their motivation for writing. Here are three of those types:
You write because you have to
It’s part of your job; you have to write email messages, proposals, contracts, and reports as part of your daily work. It’s not something that you particularly care for, but you have to be able to use words well to be successful.
You write because you have to
You have a passion for something, and writing is a way for you to continue or increase your participation in that thing you love. Maybe you love sports but you’re too klutzy to carry a football, so writing lets you stay connected with the game. Or you wanted to be an astronaut, but you’re too nearsighted to even be a pilot, so you write about space exploration instead. Or you’re an authority on something like business-to-business marketing or collectable beer bottle caps, and you write about it because you want to share your knowledge and passion with others.
You write because you have to
You have something bubbling up inside you that comes out as words on a page, an itch that only pen and paper can scratch. Asleep or awake, you dream scenes and stories that enchant or torment you and you feel a deep loss if you don’t capture them on the page. You feel like you have a demon or monster in your gut, tearing at your ribcage, and writing is how you exorcise (or exercise) the beast. You write because it’s cheaper than therapy and healthier than drugs and alcohol.
So, which one best describes you? Or are you in a category of your own invention?
Why do you write?
I think you’ll like my "why I write," which is at this link:http://laviegraphite.blogspot.com/2008/01/recognition.htmlHere's an excerpt: "Take a strong position about your subjects, whatever they may be. Even if it may be unglorious or despairing. Stand your ground with your written voice; that is far more important than grammatical scrupulosity. Write as though if you left your page blank, the bricks around you would cry forth. You are writing what must be written- and it can be about absolutely anything. You are in charge; you are the wielder of words."
I’m not sure if it was intentional that each heading is "I write because you have to"…
Faraz,It was intentional. I was playing with the ambiguity of the phrase "you have to."
Writing, letting my imagination run loose, inventing personalities; all these lift me to a plane occupied by people of huge talent. We are all on the same plane although they are separate, in groups, enclosed in the shell of their shared success. So what? I am/we are in that company.Tell you what it feels like. When I was a child and we had holiday meals, with many relatives in attendance; the adults ate at the large dining table and the kids at a small table off to one side. It was as enjoyable for us as for the grownups, but with the added advantage of knowing we would one day be promoted to the big table. It is that optimism which makes writing such an indispensable part of my personality – and yours.