A Little on Writing

I thought I might say a few things about writing today since that is, after all, what I am doing here. And one might ask, who made you the expert? Well, I am not the expert, nor do I pretend to be. I just know that I am a writer by virtue of having to write. It is no longer an option to do it or not do it. I am being driven by something greater than myself to put words to paper, and thus I do (of course that driving force could be insanity or some need for self-aggrandization, but that is beside the point).

I am not a writer because I have an MFA. I am not a writer because I am paid to write. I am a writer because for some reason I am driven from the inside out to take what inspires me about this life and put the thoughts or moments into words on paper. It started out as a hobby. I began writing poetry from a very early age, some of it good, some of it not good. I won't subject you to the words and thoughts that came out of me in 1986. As time went on I felt moved to create books of poetry for my family and my friends. And in the back of my mind I had the thought that one day I would publish a book.

Well, a life-altering illness happened to me in early 2007. It knocked me off of my feet, shook my world, and left me not knowing if I would ever walk again. Things changed for me. Priorities shifted. Out of that experience came the experiential knowledge that life really is very short. And no longer am I able to just cruise along not doing what I am absolutely passionate doing. So, I changed it up a bit. I have gone part-time at the hospital where I work, and the rest of the time I write. I started out writing a memoir about my experience (which I am by the way still working on: Learning How to Walk in India), and my goal was to publish this book.

What has happened over time however is that this desire to publish a book has blossomed into me just wanting to write-about everything that moves me, if I ever actually publish that book is secondary. I have heard it said you should write because you love to write, not because you expect to get published. People, be real. Of course if you are spending hours at a desk, cutting out on your personal engagements and time when you could be actually making money, in order to write, there is a passion for it. Otherwise you wouldn't do it. 

Would you ever say to the entrepreneur with the MBA, "well, you should start this businesss because you love it and not because you want to make money off of it." No. You wouldn't. If the entrepreneur doesn't love what he is doing, it'll be obvious, and the business won't succeed. But I don't think any of us writers are ONLY writing for the love of it, without the hopes of someday getting published, and if you are, then I commend you. If I had a trust fund, maybe I would, but that is not the case. And we all have to put food on the table, so really examine this notion of "write because you love to, and only for that reason." Write because you love to write, because you are moved to do so, and be my guest to hope like hell that one day someone will pay you for it.