Why write?

Why do people write? Why do they bother, in a world (or at least a country) in which many people don't buy books, don't borrow them from the library, and don't read magazines, newspapers, or even blogs?

With the exception of a handful of block buster writers, writers make very little money in exchange for their years of education, their talent and decades of effort. They are often admired, but seldom respected for their choice of profession. (Although many parents are proud of their child's writing ability, have you ever heard one say, "I really hope my kid will become a writer?")

Writers have an overpwoering need to express themselves on paper (or on the computer). They have ideas they want to share with the world. They want those ideas to be "heard" above the din of modern life, so they write them down. They might even hope for immortaility through their work.

Sometimes, writing is the only way that a writer can make sense of experience. Or let off steam about an incident. For many writers a situation isn't fully comprehensible or truly real until they write about it.

Do you want to be a writer? If so, you might want to ask yourself, "Why?"

If you'd like to see more reasons that writers write, take a look at Writing Makes Bad Things Better from Real Words from a Real Writer.

To read more about writing, please visit Boston Writing Careers. For more about creative writing, go to Tools & Tactics for Creative Writers.