Why Do We Write?

Hello Seekerville. 👋

Cate here. 

They say confession is good for the soul, so I'll start with a confession right up front.

I haven't been writing much lately - like at all! 

And it's killing me!

I'll come back to that in a minute, but I had to get it off my chest up front before we delve into a discussion.

I just finished reading a book with my class.

 Peak by Roland Smith is the story of a young boy climbing Mt. Everest. It's a wonderful adventure story full of conflict and challenges, and my 7th grade boys were hanging on every word. To be honest, I was too. I read this book with a class almost every year, and I still love reading it. 

It's fun to read through my post-it notes to see what kinds of things I've taken note of in the past and what my thoughts were as I read it each time.The colors of the notes change from year to year so I can see what was different in my thinking. But one question is consistent across the pages and across they years. WHY???

Why would anyone put themselves through what these characters are enduring just to get to the top of a mountain?

Peak is a wonderful book to use to teach students about conflict because there are so many kinds - Peak vs nature, Peak vs his father, Peak vs society, Peak vs himself. The novel is also easy for teaching plot structure because the climax occurs literally at the peak of the mountain. Everything after is just downhill.

But maybe you're asking why am I writing about a middle grade novel?

It comes back to that question WHY???

Why do climbers risk very probable death to climb a mountain. As the title character, Peak Marcello, wisely states: The only thing you’ll find on the summit of Mount Everest is a divine view. The things that really matter lie far below.

So why?

Do you ever ask yourself that about your writing?

Why would anyone put themselves through this???

Why would anyone face tight deadlines and endless revisions only to risk harsh reviews and uncertain sales?

Let me digress a moment before I answer that.

I saw a tweet this morning asking would you:

a) drive 100 miles to meet your favorite author in person, or

b) stay home and use the money to buy more of her books.

There was a wide range of answers from people who would drive AND buy all the author's books to be signed to people who felt so introverted they knew they would back out at the last minute. 

Yesterday Laurel Blount was talking about how wonderful it is to get away with other writers because they get us.They get the struggle. That's so very true. Unfortunately it's not always possible. 

But during the pandemic, this desperation of authors to connect yielded some cool opportunities. Multiple virtual events sprang up. Some were hosted by individual authors on FB live. Julia Kelly started Ask an Author (a FB group with over a million members)

Some were also hosted by bookstores looking to stay afloat and help readers stay connected to their favorite authors. It turned out the advantage was many more people were able to attend than on an in-person author event. I remember at one point being able to chat with authors almost every night of the week!

Friends and Fiction started out as a chat between five authors who happened to be friends but who also had books releasing in the spring of 2020 and had no idea how to marker them. The weekly chat sessions spawned a FB group with over 70,000 members! If you need a writing fix (and writing tip from well-known authors) then this is the place to be on Wednesday nights.

Last week the 4 friends interviewed Laura Dave. They were talking about her mega best-selling novel and they were also talking about how to fit writing time into a busy life. Almost everyone agreed they had to do it first thing when they got up or it just didn't happen - because writing is so hard!

It is hard work. Incredibly rewarding hard work, but mind-blowing, exhausting, draining work - and that'a when it's going well.

So that brings me back to my question - why do we do it??? 

We all have our own reasons, but I think it's similar to the reasons people have for climbing Mt. Everest - because we have to. There's something inside us begging for release. We crave the rush of putting words on paper. we have stories that need to be told. We don't know how not to write. 

Remember I said I'd come back to the not writing part. Work, family demands, stress - all of these have kept me from writing lately - but you know what - they left me CRAVING time to write. The need to dwell in my stories became a physical ache. I had to write. 

I'd love to hear your thoughts on why you write.

Or if you don't write - and you are an avid reader - I'd love to hear your thoughts too.

Why do you do it?