A Little Mystery, and a Little Something More

Why do you write?  Where do your ideas come from? How do you have the time?

Those are the words people like to speak at writers. I have come to realize that many times the askers of these questions are writers who do not write, or people who really want to be writers, they just never quite find themselves doing the work for it.

That’s not always the case, but I have learned to recognize the question for what it is. In fact, I use it to bring myself back to reality on those awful days when writer’s block is a real thing.

Don’t worry. This isn’t some kind of “inside baseball” writer post for other authors. Actually it is a hat tip toward you, the reader.

I used to think the answer to “why do I write” had a lot to do with me, with my needs. It does; there is convincing evidence that I would be nonfunctional if I wasn’t writing.

The more I write, though, the more I realize the answer to this question has to do with the people for whom I write. I don’t write to live in an echo chamber of my own making. I write because I want to be read. I mean, selling more books is always a plus and it’s something I love to do.

But the real answer is that I write because I love to give readers a way to get away from the crap that life throws at us sometimes. Listen, it’s rough out there sometimes. Kids, work, family pressure, all of it is part of everyday life. But ya’ll know that it gets tougher than that sometimes.

There are scary phone calls from doctor’s offices (had one of those once, no fun,) financial setbacks, caring for aging parents, watching our parents die...it’s when those times compound that life can get to be too much to bear.

What does that have to do with writing books? Sort of everything. Maybe I write because I like to give you someplace else to go, some other story to get lost injust for a little while. It’s a vacation for the brain, when you can’t get away physically.

At last I have nailed down the real motivation for these little mysteries I love to pen. Okay, no pens are really involved. I’m a total keyboard nerd. But I pound those keys because it gives me a purpose to create an escape for someone else, the same way my favorite authors open new worlds for me.

I just hope you get as much out of it as I do.