lady_karelia | Writing

I had never thought about writing anything before 2006. I started out in the BtVS fandom, reading tons of fic, wincing at atrocious grammar... And then I volunteered to beta for someone. I know I should have probably researched a little on how one actually betas, but I didn't, ended up practically rewriting this girl's fic for her (many, many stories) and then we moved. I was able to extricate myself from her and suddenly found - crossovers. HP was my first crossover and goodness me... I fell in LOVE and had ideas and then wrote these little bits of dialog that wouldn't leave me alone.

Ended up with a 23 chapter fic that took me 22 months to write. I'd love to have the time to go back and smooth it out.

Severus and Drusilla were my muses back then.

So I guess I caught the writing bug from editing others' work and now I document all of my ideas whether big or small. I've even started growing characters for an original fiction... *scary huh?

I started because I realized I missed writing papers for school. Hard to believe but I used to get really excited about some of the papers I wrote, especially for my history and poly sci classes. Then it was because I was bored out of my mind living in small town France where I had no friends, TV, or internet. Later when I moved home and had things to do it was because there weren't enough stories out there that I wanted to read so I wrote what I wanted to see.

Since my HP muse has seemingly dried up most of my writing takes the form of blogging about life as an expat in Japan and that really is more about communicating with my friends and family back home. But mostly I write because I have something to say, because I have a sense of accomplishment when I finish, and because I amuse myself and hopefully others with my words.

Because I need to tell stories and folks are getting tired of the ones I tell about myself. Because there are all these ideas, thoughts, words, swirling around in my head all the time. I think in prose, especially when I'm driving. I hear the cadence of speech and remember odd snippets. I think that is too big a hint from the universe to ignore.

Why do I write? Sometimes (as with research papers) it's to make money, though that's never the only reason. Sometimes it's to communicate essential information (when I'm outlining a program I want to put in place with my theatre company, for instance) or silly stuff (why my inability to peel hard boiled eggs is an ongoing source of frustration). Sometimes it's to provide a monologue that displays my acting abilities. Sometimes it's to express a sensation or an emotion or a truth I think I've understood (a lot of my poetry comes from that impulse). Sometimes it's because I have a story I just have to tell, and I want to hear how people reading it will react.

Sometimes it's simply because the act of typing out words, of finding a structure and syntax and rhythm and balance that satisfy me is such a wonderful art. Through writing, I can create something tangible and connected from nothing--from dust and symbols and organization and design. I love writing, I am amazed by it, I share myself through the act of writing, and I revel in its possibilities.

Mostly, I write because I can. I write because it's easy--and because it's completely impossible. I write because I have to.

I can't truly pinpoint when or why I started writing, but I can tell you what writing 'does for me' and maybe that will shed some light??

It basically serves two purposes: artistic release (because I can't draw or paint or sing -- or even cook, truth be told), and it's an escape from the "daily grind".

I've made up little stories since I was a kid, but I didn't start writing for people to read until Harry Potter, and even then it was a gradual transition from stream-of-thought writing to a style that would (hopefully) allow others to "see" what I see in my head in a given scene.

The latter, I've found, is much more fun and allows me to get lost in the fantasy/story/scene for a moment and leave the mundane behind - just as the HP books themselves did for me. (Clarification: That sounds like I'm 'putting myself into the story', aka: Mary Sue, but I don't "see" it like I'm there living it so much as like a movie in my head in which I can see the strugles of the characters, relate to their emotions, and enjoy their triumphs with them - not "as" them.)

And that's pretty much it. A long winded way of saying that its an escape and allows the kid in me to come out and play. :)

It is more an outlet for me. I get a brilliant idea (or not so brilliant depending on the way you look at it) for an original story (SS/HG of course) and I just feel that I have to share it.

I can't seem to keep it simple however, and they always turn into epics as everyone wants their own 15 minutes (or ch) of glory. Bloody characters.

Loves you, Sonia :)

I started writing out of sheer annoyance at certain fics in the ship. Once I began, things just burst out of me. It was certainly fun at the start and cathartic too, but now I sometimes wonder if I'm doing it because I still enjoy it or I feel i have to. I just wish I had an idea for an o-fic I could really get my teeth into.

Most people seem to say they've had a compulsion to write fiction since they first put pencil to exercise book, and that was initially true of me (my mother keeps a stapled-together wad of paper entitled 'Detecshun Mistri Horro' dated just after my fifth birthday and containing a ghost story) but school soon squashed it. There was a one-off flare when I sat the 'Use of English' exam that used to be a requirement for scientists doing Oxbridge entrance, when I squirrelled the composition title 'What My Life Will Be Like In Old Age' into a pastiche of Rose Macauley's The Towers of Trebizond - I was so overcome with my own humour that I laughed out loud in the exam room - but I wrote no fiction after that for three decades. Even when I read my first few SSHGs I thought that I would forever be a consumer rather than a creator, or a beta at best. But then a hardback notebook started filling up during the kids' swimming lessons, against my better judgment and almost against my natural inclinations. It is only recently that I've realised that I have always told myself stories in my head any time that my hands are occupied but my brain is not (sewing, driving) or when I can't sleep. The actual writing is surprisingly hard for me; well, it surprises me because I am a ready and fluent writer of non-fiction: I actually enjoy writing essays. I am not naturally suited to the process of writing fiction (dialogue is especially hard) but I have a compulsion to work an idea out and express it somehow. Very, very slowly...

I write because it provides me the freedom I long to have in real life.

I can travel anywhere, do anything, meet anyone.

It allows me to create something in what could otherwise be a very boring day... and because I get a nagging feeling to write, if I don't.

And it's addictive... I get to meet new people, talk about things. If I stopped, I'd have to give that up. And I don't think I'd be able to do that!

I don't mind if you unscreen this comment ;p

Oohh, this is very interesting to think about. Personally, I write first and foremost because I enjoy writing. Always have. I have many, many pages of stories that I wrote when I was a kid. In second grade, I finished my first story which is hilarious to read now. About a girl who finds a treasure buried in her backyard, lol. I've written my whole life, and when I found sshg, it just seemed right.

So now, for me, its a fun, intelligent hobby I have. I am learning how to be a better writer, meeting many lovely people with the same interest! And nothing beats the feeling of getting an idea that WANTS to be written, like you need to exorcise it. Writing is addictive and soothing and difficult and frustrating and just exhilarating when you've finished something of which you can be proud. Not much beats that feeling.

That may be a question for the ages... I don't really feel as if I have a choice. I write because the stories are there, and the characters want to tell those stories.

It's a compulsion, really, and one that is necessary for my overall health.

Why do I write? That is a multi-faceted question, because it depends on what I am writing.

If I am writing poetry it is usually because there is something deep inside I need to get out and the only way I can express it is in verse.

If I am writing technically it is because I have to for work.

Then there is fanfiction. I write fanfiction for the challenge (hmm who was the one who originally challenged me?). I am not an aspiring author driven to create, but someone who simply tries new things. I find the writing of fanfiction to be the most difficult avenue I have explored. I have very little faith in my own imagination and/or abilities.

I write so that I can feel... but it only works if I make others feel, too.

I blogged for years but it wasn't very satisfying, overall... sure, being known to others in the profession was kind of interesting, but writing about academia and my experiences there didn't quite engage me (and it was rather too soul-revealing a lot of the time... I don't mind being seen, but I don't like being Seen, not by perfect strangers.. if You know what I mean). So, approaching two years ago I finally read my first piece of fanfic, and I was intrigued. The author-friend who got me to read her stuff eventually poked me into writing (about a year and a half ago). And I never knew I liked to write, that I was so very fond of words, of constructions, of playing.

I write for me, because I love the words. And, I find, I love making people squee, so that's a nice piece, too. But mainly, I think I write for the stories and the characters. I want to put the emotions I feel and the images in my head down in a way that they can be shared, and although I don't know that I'm always successful, I do enjoy the attempt. :) And I like finding new ways of writing that makes my very loudmouthed inner critic stutter and shut up, she's been the death of me for more years than I can count.

I write because it isn't easy. It doesn't matter how much I write, or what, or even if my SPaG gets better - writing is still challenging. I don't feel that I have some inner wisdom to impart or anything like that - I like to write because it can be fun and it's difficult.

Hm, to me I think an easier question would have been: Why are you alive? LOL. But, really, I write for many reasons. However, the main reason is for myself. Because I truly get enjoyment from it. It is nice to see the ideas in my head on paper, even if they are crazy, idealism, or just plain weird. It also gives me a way to get those ideas out of my head before I forget them.

When I was younger, I wrote lots of poetry. I used it as an escape if I didn't like what was going on around me. It helped me with my feelings and emotions, and perhaps any anger issues I had. I think it would be correct to say I still do that, though I haven't written much poetry lately.

Ever since I can remember, I have always wanted to write and be a writer. But I am learning it takes more than just the desire. However, since it is something I want to do, I think it is worth striving to become better. I have learned more in the last year than I learned in my entire life. I thank you for that.

~Stef~

I write because I am compelled to write, for myself or as gifts to friends from time to time. Something gets into my head and it must be expressed. I am also compelled to edit and revise, as if perpetually honing a sculpture, there is that fine line where enough is enough. When I reach that point, when I feel I have a finished product, I may even share, though don't hold your breath ;-) It's therapeutic to me, and crosses over into art, and acting, all these facets of a world very real to Me, and as I have found, to others as well. I can draw but cannot paint, and words add colour to my black and white renditions, which are then further projected in person through characters and worlds I've adopted.

I didn't discover fanfiction until after book 7, when my disappointment forced me to find something more. For as long as I can remember, I have always made up stories in my head. something to keep me occupied during mundane tasks, when driving a long distance, or to help me fall asleep. Some of these stories made in onto paper and are in a file, others have been scrapped. What I didn't realize was that all this time many of the stories in my head were a form of fanfiction. The original stories are the ones that I actually wrote down. I write to get them out of my head. I write to calm myself down. I write things I would want to read. My writing is personal. I write it for me. I may not be good at it, but it's mine. A part of me that will still be here when I am gone.

I've wanted to tell stories since I was a very little girl. I remember beginning to hand write (and illustrate) my first "novel" when I was nine years old. My parents scoffed at such an ambition, and I did not pursue it, other than for the odd one page here or there. When I discovered fan fiction and saw that some of it was terrific and some good and some fair and some poor, I thought I could find a niche in there for myself. I write because it's read and reviewed; I write because it makes me feel good about myself to accomplish it and to be praised for it; I write because my family supports my in the endeavour; I write because I have stories to tell and a willing audience to read them.

Hmmm. Why do I breathe? ;)

I've written stories, ficlets, etc. since I was quite young. It was yet another creative outlet for me. Nowadays, it's a good way to get thoughts on paper. I always have some plot bunny running 'round in my head, and to get the bunny to leave me alone, I write down the thoughts, and if I'm lucky (or if the Muse allows it), those thoughts just might lead to a coherent story.

I can't honestly say it's my life - at this point, music occupies that slot - but it's a good thing to do when I'm not practicing.

I don't care if you screen this or not, but I write because it's my way of relaxing.

It's my creative outlet, to discover a new world, a new bunch of people to write about.

I write the stories I do because they aren't there yet.

...Writing is like letting go, and discovering more about yourself through what you put on the page.

But that's just me. I don't know about everyone else. :-)

Hmm, mostly I write because bunnies attack me. Ideas form in my head and keep spinning around in my brain, and I can't focus on anything else until I get them down on page.

I was talking to a gal I used to teach with. She was telling me some of her adventures in homeschooling and mentioned how active my imagination is. I guess that's really it. Overactive imagination.

I use writing as a means to exorcise my inner daemons, and sometimes to escape reality. It is my world within a world where I can control what happens.

I write because I like it... It gives me something to do to break up the boring monotony of my life, and I just genuinely like it ;p

Fascinating question, and you really made me think about it. For once, however, I shall be brief. :D

I write to get the story out of my head ... and because I think maybe someone other than me might enjoy it.

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