Blogging about Writing about Writing

Someone once inquired of a famous writer, "Is it hard for you to write?" She thought for a minute and then answered, "Not really. All I do is sit down at the keyboard and open a vein."

Graphic but true. I wonder if other writers write for the same reasons I do. In one way it makes no sense. Writing, like all art, is not on the same level as working and eating. It is not essential for survival. But it is universal. I would love to hear from other writers about their reasons for writing. My own reasons go like this, depending on the day and the hour.

One, I write because I have to. Scribo ergo sum. Second, I think that after multiple drafts, rewrites, word order changes, grammatical checks, and sweat, I end up with something good. If something inside me did not tell me the work was good, I would stop forever. When God finished creation God declared, "It's very good!" I have the urge to participate in that creation celebration. Third, I serve the work. Every artist with integrity does. The work has a mind of its own and it can be contrary when I try to serve it. Often I sit down at the keyboard with an agenda, and something else shows up and says, "Write me." Call it God or The Muse or the Artistic Spirit, some entity keeps me company when I type, veering me off in sometimes odd directions.

Finally, I hope I not only serve the work, but serve the readers. If someone gets inspired, or gets angry, or cries, or laughs, or sees their own story in mine, or glimpses the universal story of what it means to be human, I have served God and the work well.

After that, it's Miller time.