A while back, our co-founder Faye Kirwin asked a good question: Why do you write? After seeing your awesome answers, we only thought it fair that we answer that same, very personal, question. Each month one of us from the Sprint Shack team will answer that burning question: Why do I write? This month’s answer comes from Taylor Eaton – look for Cristina R. Guarino’s answer in February!
Why do I write?
It’s not something I think about often – I mean, I think about writing A LOT. I think about writing while I’m at work and when I’m falling asleep. And I think about how excited I am to write when I wake up in the morning. But I don’t really give much thought to why I write very often.
So why do I write? The short answer is that I love it. And that I can’t imagine not writing. I feel better about myself when I write – it’s something that makes me happy and something that makes me feel good at the end of the day. I get in what some call a “flow state” when I write. When I’m interested in the story I’m writing, time slips away and the words just come. One by one. I lose sense of my surroundings and I’m focused in on this one story that, in the moment, seems like the most important and exciting thing I’ve ever written. But that’s such an esoteric answer. Maybe the better question is: Why do I write what I write?
Why do I write fiction? I write fiction on my personal site because I think that my observations and beliefs about humanity can be more easily accessible to readers if told in a clever story.
Why do I write flash-fiction/micro-fiction? I write tiny, tiny stories in order to hold the readers attention (plus, I get bored when I write about the same thing for a long time – some sort of a writer’s version of attention deficit disorder).
Why do I write mostly dark, surreal, prose-y stories? The prose comes naturally, because if I’m going to say something, it should be said beautifully or with care. And most of my writings are dark because I think the world is a dark place. But my stories aren’t meant to depress or anger. They’re meant to shine a light on what is difficult or sad or horrible, all so that we can either change those things or accept them as they are and appreciate the things that are good. I write because I love it and my life is noticeably more boring when I don’t. I write the things I write because I want to give my readers something worth reading. Not just a jumble of words.
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