Write Thoughts (2): Why Do You Write?

Write Thoughts is a weekly feature idea I came up with for all my writer friends. Each week there will be a writing question I will pose and answer. This is to connect with other writers, get ideas and writing advice. Feel free to participate in the comments or on your blog. Use the linky tool thingy at the bottom. Here we go!

Today is National Day on Writing. Yes, it is an official nationally recognized day! NCTE established October 20 as The National Day on Writing. Visit the website for more information and ways to get involved.

To mark the day, they have posed this question to the world of writers: Why Do You Write?

Simple answer. I breathe; therefore I write. I couldn't imagine not writing. When I was young in my room all alone, a pen and paper kept me company, entertained me. Writing has always been my outlet. If I had something to say and my shyness got in the way, I was always able to write. If a boy broke my heart or upset me I could express my feelings better on paper than face to face.  I'm not a big talker.

The only thing I miss about the single life, is the time I was able to devote to writing. No interruptions, no distractions, just pure writing time. I'd cut the TV off, silence the phone and get lost in my own imagination for hours.

Writing keeps me sane. I swear I have schizophrenic conversations all the time. This character can do this, go there, have this happen. I'm in my own world, just thinking, thinking. And until I put the idea on paper, I'm constantly thinking.

Right now, my problem is execution. I'm in the process of honing my craft. It's not just about the idea, its about sentence structure, dialogue, verb usage and grammar. Because its not just about writing something like in the past, its about writing something good, amazing, outstanding.

Ahem, so back on topic. Why do I write? Because I have to.

I'm interested to hear from other writer about why they write. Answer the question in the comments or if you are doing a blog post for National Day on Writing add it to the link below.