WHY DO I WRITE?

Sometimes I ask myself that question. Many people, before they become writers, think they’ll write a book, become a New York Times best seller, and make a fortune. Most of them never write a book, and the ones that do wake up to reality before very long.

So, obviously, I don’t write for the money. If I did I’d have quit years ago. Maybe someday, my stories will earn enough to buy a new car or fancy clothes or to take a vacation to Hawaii. Until that day arrives, I’ll buy a couple of books with my royalties and read.

Some people dream of writing a novel that Hollywood will snap up and turn into a top box office movie. Interviews, spotlight, celebrities, and trips around the world, every viewer gushing over the characters, the story, and waiting for the sequel.

Ah, yes, to see one of my novels on the big screen, or the little screen for that matter, would be awesome. I could get into that scene for sure. Successful book. Successful movie. A dream come true. No one has mentioned making a movie for my work. (I think they’re passing up a marvelous opportunity.) So I’ll just enjoy watching the success of other writers and imagining what their world is like, seeing their characters come to life. I’m truly happy for each of their successes.

Authors often write to send a message to friends, family, and the world. Perhaps something happy or sad, frightening or fulfilling in his or her life demands to be told, so others might learn from his or her experience. We see many stories written about special children or a traumatic even in one’s life or a story about making choices, based on personal experiences.

I believe my personal experiences influence much of my writing. A magazine article I read about advances in medicine and science prompted the idea for Secrets I Have Kept. A twilight ghost tour of the historic district of Charleston, SC, resulted in Listen to the Ghost. Life on Hold was born from a newspaper article I read about a boy and girl that found the son they had given up for adoption eighteen years earlier. My picture book, Frankie’s Perfect Home, was born when a young armadillo made his/her home in our pasture.

 

 

So why do I write? I write to share my world, or my view of the world, with others. I write because I find people and animals, whether contemporary or make believe, fascinating. I write to satisfy a need inside me that I really can’t explain, but it’s there. I write, hoping to give readers, both young and older, an escape from every day life to another place, another time, if only for a while.

Why do you write?

Roads and Detours

I enjoy walking in the evenings. There’s nothing like the blue sky with a fluffy cloud or two, a gentle breeze to cool my face, and the soft call of the dove, or the "Bobwhite, Bobwhite" of the quail to relax me and sometimes to let me work out a problem I’m having with a story.

My characters usually start down a certain road. Maybe they’re pursuing a dream. Maybe they’re in trouble and are trying to figure out a solution. Or maybe they just follow along with the crowd, wherever their friends go, they go, their destination unclear. Whatever the reason for choosing a particular road, what happens when they reach a crossroad and there’s more than one path to follow? Or the way they’ve been going is blocked, and they have to take a detour.

Oh wow! That’s when the fun begins. When I’m walking, I might see a butterfly flitting around the flowers, so I change directions and take a detour from my planned path to get a closer look at the butterfly. What kind of butterfly is it? Can I take its picture?

Or I may see an unusual wild flower, one that I’ve never noticed before. Of course I must investigate. How did it get in my pasture? Will it survive in its new environment? Only time will tell. (Pardon the cliché.)

One day when I was walking I saw an ant trail. It isn't real clear here, but you can see it faintly running through the middle of the picture.

A few steps later this is what it looked like. See the fork in the road.

Some ants evidently decided to take a detour. They must have seen something that intrigued them. (Normally the field is green and lovely,  but this summer we broke all records and had the hottest, driest summer ever recorded.)



Of if a baby bird is just learning to fly, I have to stop and watch it awhile. If an armadillo is digging for its supper, I can’t resist taking a closer look. I can learn much about nature by observing an animal's behavior or what is growing around me. Sometimes what I see even leads to a book, like my first picture book, Frankie’s Perfect Home, about … you guessed it … an armadillo.

When our characters decide to take a detour, it’s sometimes frustrating, at least to me. I want them to go in a certain direction. How dare they mess up my plot. However, if I stop and listen to my protagonist, he/she may have much better plans than I have. Who am I to argue? It is her/his story, after all.

Shh. Don’t tell my characters I said this. They think it’s all their idea. But I love those detours that lead me to unknown places and strengthen my plot into a story that’s more exciting than my original tale.

It’s time to take a walk, I think, because I’m stuck at a crossroads with my current story.

See you later. I wonder if we'll take a detour.