Why do you write?

Azrie

Redemption Seeker
Joined
May 16, 2019
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Well, now it's kind of to uh... It's joy but there is something less humble in there, to see the end of my novel written? To continue it? To satisfy readers and myself? It would be a lie to say that I would've kept writing my novel without readers, anyways.

I started writing on a whim, not expecting anything out of it. A few of my close friends got to read the first 3 chapters or so and said they liked it, in spite of all the cliches used etc. So I posted it and people somewhat enjoyed so I kept updating it. And now I am here.

I guess I write just to make others have a better time, it makes me smile every-time someone says they enjoyed my novel or helped them in some way. I have gotten really heartwarming messages as well as heartbreaking ones in this journey of mine. Just thought I'd share this since I see that it's somewhat different to other people.
 

Dethaw

Active member
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May 12, 2019
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Why not? Got an idea? Write it down.

Even if I can’t write half as well as other authors it doesn’t matter. As long as I enjoy the idea and as long as someone else also enjoys it enough to read it then it’s fine.
 

Viator

Wandering Moon that conceals the tide
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Jan 8, 2019
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Ever tried painting?
Yes actually. I'm not quite as good as it for various reasons involving my physical state, but I often try different hobbies to relax. Painting being one. Even if my paintings are relegated somewhere between looking something like a finger painting to some sort of bizarre abstract modern art. A few have come out all right. Those are usually give away or sell to friends that want them. But a good one is like catching lightning in a bottle for me. It's not the bizarre obsession my writing can be.
 

Andro

New member
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Aug 18, 2019
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Although I didn't post a story here, but I write because I love writting stories. I love that my readers love what I'm writting and waiting for the next chapter to come. Writting is a hobby for me, but it makes me calm and since I have a lots of ideas, writting helps me share them with others. Sometimes it's like a theraphy too, and helps me to develop my creativity and vocabulary.
 

Minasharpwrites

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Sep 30, 2019
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I enjoy the rush of writing a great scene but mainly it's to write something I want to read.
I know I read that somewhere as a tip. Don't write something you think will sell (which I took as don't follow trends because inevitably they change). Write something you want to read or wish was out there. And that's what I'm doing.
I also want to share what I've written but that's a whole nother kettle of fish I'm slowly starting to tackle.
 

Minasharpwrites

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this might make me sound a little crazy... Strictly speaking about poetry, my writing can sometimes be a need, and a compulsion. I write for the flow of language. I hear it in a way others describe music, there is cadence, a rhythm that I hear, and am always seeking to capture. There are times I become almost like a madman; frustrated with the limits of language, I want to push the limits of what I write into what I hear. It's something I cannot explain well, except that it's like a drug that takes all of my energy. I have never once yet succeeded in capturing this 'sound' and my work is a sea of failure. But I can't stop pursuing it. Sometimes I hear it in the wind, sometimes the water, I feel it in the person next to me as inspiration strikes... It sounds nuts; but I'm desperate to break through this invisible wall in my perceptions, to reach this tone I hear beneath the limits of the very language I'm bound to. Some days I want to tear my hair out, and many of my poems actually end with me giving up in exhaustion, or half finished, as if by continuing I would only degrade them and make them hollow by forcing an ending. Many do end up hollow like this. Mere cheap imitations of something else I can't describe. Maybe pieces or shards of it are present; but I come away never feeling satisfied.
That's difficult indeed. I don't think I come close to what you're feeling but I do get that feeling of frustration sometimes. I can see the scene play out in my mind but I can't come up with just the right words to convey that scene to someone else. One of the many areas I try to tackle in my writing.
Doesn't help that some of my writing ideas come from dreams. I have very vivid dreams where I can feel everything. And yet I still have problems writing it out.
This might be the pot calling the kettle black but sometimes you need to step back. Finish what you wrote and then step back take a breather for a couple of days and then pick up what you wrote. Maybe then you can better describe what you were experiencing. Sometimes frustration and stress only stop the flow of creativity and that will only frustrate you further.
Also this is just an idea but maybe you might want to think about the absence of words. Sometimes what you don't write is just as intriguing or jarring as what you do write. Sorry if my explanation isn't good.
 

Viator

Wandering Moon that conceals the tide
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Jan 8, 2019
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That's difficult indeed. I don't think I come close to what you're feeling but I do get that feeling of frustration sometimes. I can see the scene play out in my mind but I can't come up with just the right words to convey that scene to someone else. One of the many areas I try to tackle in my writing.
Doesn't help that some of my writing ideas come from dreams. I have very vivid dreams where I can feel everything. And yet I still have problems writing it out.
This might be the pot calling the kettle black but sometimes you need to step back. Finish what you wrote and then step back take a breather for a couple of days and then pick up what you wrote. Maybe then you can better describe what you were experiencing. Sometimes frustration and stress only stop the flow of creativity and that will only frustrate you further.
Also this is just an idea but maybe you might want to think about the absence of words. Sometimes what you don't write is just as intriguing or jarring as what you do write. Sorry if my explanation isn't good.
No, you make sense. And you hit upon an idea in what I believe is actually true mastery of writing. For a master writer, things become more about what you don't say, than what you do. I've read enough to understand that those writers that leave a true impact in the often do so by what can be interpreted from what they write, rather than what they've actually written. It's ironic enough. And that's part of my struggle. I want to pull the reader into a certain tone, a certain way of being. Spellbind them to my world of words and will. To reach something deeper than just what is on the surface, into something that is essentially human. Stepping away is often good advice; but by virtue of obsession it is hard to do so. Even as I step away it nags at me. It is crazy. I don't even know what drives me in those moments, it is a kind of desperation, A mad struggle. Sometimes I run from it, because it honestly scares me. But if I let myself fall deep into my muse. If I listen for that flow of language, I get swept away into exhaustion. Who knows? There is probably a psychological disorder at play here, but I comfort myself with the knowledge that historically great artists often walked the line of madness between the known world, and something that resided in their own. Not that implying I'm anywhere close to great, I'm likely just a little crazy. But I think it's the common desire of everyone to touch on something eternal, while they are mortal. Even if that is often the thing that kills them. The proof is in the pudding they say; and the meaning is often found at the end.
 

Rellawing

Optimistic Kitten
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Jan 2, 2019
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I'm certain others think and feel this way, but I want to leave something of myself in the world. Hopefully nothing but good things! Writing can sometimes live longer than you. Being able to create something that people love is enough for me. I'd be happy if I could make money with it eventually, but it's not my primary goal. I'm foolish and romantic when it comes to my writing. I don't have a ton of self-confidence. I just do my best despite it, and kind of obsess over the quality of what I'm writing or doing.
 

Myewphi

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Oct 2, 2019
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I have a problem where I spend hours a day just spaced out thinking about story, game, and world designs. I decided I wanted to turn it productive so now I do my best to put my thoughts down on paper.

Now if only there was a way to do that but without having to worry about editing and all the little boring parts of writing...
 

Yorda

Villainess Yorda the Virtuous Flower of Evil
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Aug 9, 2019
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I used to write fan fictions for myself for the purpose of wish fulfillment where I would insert myself into stories as a character. It was great fun and I like typing on my keyboards. You know how pokemon evolve? Well, readers are simply the un-evolved form of authors. When they gain enough experience through battle (reading) they might evolve. Other readers need to use a stone or meet special conditions (need a trigger in life) to evovle.

I started writing because I found that I could derive the same kind of pleasure from it that I was able to get from reading a good story. Writing made me feel good, it helped my literary skills in my professional life, it helped me understand myself more, and it helped me enjoy stories more. I first started writing one summer when I was seriously procrastinating from other important stuff. Actually, I can say that I obsessively wrote for 2 weeks straight, everyday, totally ignoring everything else in my life. Terrible life decision, but f##k it felt good and everything was okay in the end. LAWL.

So the first step was writing fanfictions where I would insert myself as a character. Writing fanfiction type stuff allowed me to spend more time enjoying the stories that I loved. It was easier to get used to writing this way because fanfictions build off of pre-existing characters, world-building, and storyline. The story is basically 90% complete before a person even starts to write. Everything I wrote was never meant to be viewed by anyone else than myself so I could write complete garbage super fast for pure fun. Like up to 20k words in a day which was ridiculous. This fanfiction stuff was like my training wheels and got me used to thinking from the perspective of different characters as I considered how they would react to my own character and changes that I made to story events.

After writing fanfictions for a while I transitioned to writing my own original stories and characters. These were more like LitRPG stories. Once again I wrote purely for fun without caring about plot holes, grammar, realism, rationality or anything like that. All this writing taught me how to do world-building, develop rational magic systems, and it introduced me to constructing much more complex original characters. These stories taught me my shortcomings as an author and what I needed to improve on. Supporting characters were not good enough. As I wrote long stories for myself I found myself getting seriously disorganized after 200k + words. Then I realized I needed to become more organized by having some kind of textfile/folder system so that I could keep track of my story outline, my characters, locations, countries, world-building background, and so much more.

I still write this kind of fun garbage for myself all the time depending on what kind of thought/emotion/feeling/premise/idea I want to explore at the time. However, I started becoming unsatisfied with this casual writing only for myself. I now care about all the characters in my story, not giving my MC special attention. The story isn't about things going right anymore, instead my story is completely focused about what goes wrong and how everyone struggles desperately. I used to care about the protagonist the most, but now I realize that the protagonist is nothing without the villain! The villain is everything! I wanted to produce a real story that I could fully apply all my efforts to and be proud of. I wanted to seriously write a story and it had to be my own original story and characters. Thus I am here, passionately writing my story, giving my best effort. My standards are very high so I finally want to produce something I can be proud of and feel like I accomplished something I can show off. My new story is nothing like the stuff I wrote in the past. It's a story not just for me, it's a story for me and everyone else to enjoy and stress over. I now want to produce something like all those stories that I love.
 
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