The Accidental Writer: Why Write?
Everyone has his or her own reasons for writing. I’m pretty sure making a lot of money or becoming famous are long shots. If that’s your motivation, you might want to try the lottery—it’s easier and the odds are about the same.
Most writers I know find the process fun, thrilling, and creative. It gets in their blood, and after a time, they have to write. Besides, you don’t need to buy expensive equipment that changes every season to prevent you from slicing the ball off the tee, which is, well, inevitable no matter what new technology they cook into the latest golf club.
I started writing seriously in 2009 when I stopped working at an Investment Bank. When that train slowed down, I jumped feet first. My oldest daughter was a high school freshman at the time. She has always loved Harry Potter (we never missed a midnight release whether movie or book), so I thought it would be fun to work on our own story together. If I could have persuaded her to take up golf, I probably would never have started writing! We wrote a young adult manuscript, had lots of fun in the process, and turned out a pretty good story. I was hooked.
Writing is the closest I can come to performing magic. I can create characters, places, and events in my mind, transform them into words, and hopefully, if I’ve done a good job, readers will experience them. They may not see the book exactly as I have envisioned it, but the basics should be the same. I imagine it is the same feeling a sculptor gets when she transforms a block of wood into something greater. If I was handy, I think I would make furniture, but I practically failed shop in high school.
This column will be focused on writing for those who like telling stories. I will attempt to discuss only issues connected with writing, but I can’t promise that I won’t veer of course now and again. As you will find out, I seldom travel a straight line. Here are some cautionary notes for new writers: writing can be addictive, distracted driving is definitely a problem, and you’ll probably never read books the same way again.
By Jeff Altabef, author of the political thriller, Fourteenth Colony. Available on Amazon.
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