Writing

[lady_karelia]

To all who write, I'm curious. Why do you write? I'm genuinely curious, and I don't want anyone to draw ideas from others' comments, so I'm screening comments for a day or two. I just want a really honest opinion. And if you don't want your comment to be seen, say so, and I won't unscreen it. I'm just really curious.

Comments

[lady-karelia.livejournal.com]

I hear you on the music being first. I once thought quite hard about it, and then finally I had to admit to myself that I can live without music (albeit very miserably), but life simply would be of a far lesser quality if I couldn't write.

Writing down the thoughts... I do that a lot, too. I even have a mic for the iPod in case I can't write, like when I'm driving. I'm not obsessed or anything, really. LOL :)

[lady-karelia.livejournal.com]

I totally hear you on the relaxing bit and very much agree.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts here. I think it's wonderful to have so many different replies and from such a wide variety of age. :D

[lady-karelia.livejournal.com]

I'm imagining the bunnies biting at your ankles. ;)

I don't think an imagination can be overactive where writing is concerned. I mean, the more active it is, the more plot there is likely to be, no?

[lady-karelia.livejournal.com]

I think that's a very, very valid reason to write!

[lady-karelia.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Valid reasons, all of them. :)

[alabastard.livejournal.com]

There can be no rushing or changing to fit others' styles, for as you say, it's not us.

Eventually I think I will, but I have a different concept of time than others. Most of life is lived in the time scales to which we all must answer, but creativity .. I can leave something for periods of time and come right back to it, with new insight, and that is a huge thrill for me.

[lady-karelia.livejournal.com]

Yes, very good reasons. Shame you were so brief about it. ;)

[lady-karelia.livejournal.com]

Yes! The learning process is another fascinating aspect about the whole writing thing. Thank you for sharing!

[lady-karelia.livejournal.com]

The love for writing, the compulsion to write seems to be a strong theme in this thread, and one I absolutely resonate with. I can't imagine a life without writing. Heck, I get grumpy if I spend more than a day without penning a word. :D

[lady-karelia.livejournal.com]

Heh. That's as wonderful a reason as any to start writing. And I'm very happy you continued ever since!

[sshg316.livejournal.com]

Hahahaha! Well, normally I'm so verbose. I thought I'd give brevity a try. ;) But really, that's pretty much the gist of it.

[abitofadork7.livejournal.com]

It's a nice way to wind down, you know? :-)

It is pretty cool to find out why people write, what they get out of it and that kind of thing. I guess it's all about perception.

[lady-karelia.livejournal.com]

Wow, and you're doing so splendidly! I do hope you'll upload your fic(s) to TPP, too. Of course, I'm biased. :D

Thank you for sharing!

[lady-karelia.livejournal.com]

Escape is always a good thing, I think, when it comes to writing or reading.

I won't say anything on the abusive childhood because if I do, I won't stop. Know that my heart goes out to you.

[dreamy-dragon73.livejournal.com]

Why do I write? As you can tell from my late reply I needed a few days to mull over your question. Writing is part of my job, but it doesn’t only help to buy food and other necessities it is a part I actually like. Writing essays, testing hypotheses, constructing a logical argument is fun for me, tremendously so. Plus, I think best when I’m writing.

But that isn’t what your question was about, right? It was about writing fiction. I’m not sure I can answer that. I’ve always loved to invent stories, either completely original ones or simply spinning off from things I enjoyed, but until roughly two years ago I never felt any need to write them down. I somehow stumbled into HP fan fiction, read a lot, loved some stories to bits, hated others and gradually my own stories began to form in my head. So I wrote them down – for the first time ever. And more stories wanted to be told. The weirdest things can trigger ideas, and I love to see them taking shape on paper or screen, words developing a life of their own. It’s still one of the most amazing things that has ever happened to me, and now that I’ve started, I don’t think I could stop, nor would I want to.

[kingpig.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much. *hugs*

[kittylefish.livejournal.com]

I write for a few reasons.

1) Because it's fun. I like sitting down and letting the words flow and tell the story. Sometimes it's a deluge, sometimes it's more of a trickle, sometimes it's like a faucet where the water's been off for a while, so it comes in fits and spurts, but it's always an amazing process. It's especially amazing when characters do things I had no idea they were going to do. Like in the recent April Fool's story, the tenderness that happened between Harry and Snape completely caught me by surprise. I also love the revision process, shining and polishing my little jewel until it's as pretty as I can make it.

2) Because I have something to say. With the poetry, for instance, it's almost like a form of therapy, trying to find sense and meaning in my jumbled emotions. And I have this crazy notion that if I write something that really speaks from my heart, maybe it will speak to someone else's heart and we will have true communication. In the wee hours this morning as I pondered this question while unable to sleep, I realized that even when writing HP fanfic, what I'm really interested in exploring seems best defined as the quintessential human quest for love and understanding. (Okay, sometimes maybe I mix up sex and love a little bit.)

3) Because I need to find out what happens. When I get an idea for something to write, there's usually characters, a situation, and a place I want to get to in the end. But I really have no idea how I will get there, or even if I will get there, and if I do get there, whether or not that's actually going to be the end or just a station along the way. Writing without any really defined outline means that the only way I can really know what happens is by writing it.

Thanks for posting this, which pushed me to articulate it for myself. :D