Why Do I Write?

Why do I sit in front of a screen a few hours every day when I could be playing pickleball?

A recent article in LitHub asks writers to think about why we write, which, naturally, got me asking that question myself. Why do I sit in front of a screen a few hours every day when I could be playing pickleball, or gardening?

If anyone asked, my standard answer has been: I need to write in the same way I need to breathe. I’m compelled to, down to obsessive note-taking and to-do lists.

In that Lithub article, author Douglas Unger thinks that’s a cheap answer, and encourages writers to dig deeper. Understanding the reasons we write, he says, is an essential rite of passage toward mastery. By developing self-awareness we can “answer the most basic artistic questions: What kind of writer do I want to be? Where does my writing come from? Why am I writing?”

Citing Allen Grossman, Unger identifies two impulses: some writers transport readers to another realm or time so they can escape. Others have “a passionate drive, even obsession, to express an injustice.”

Some writers transport readers to another realm or time so they can escape. Others have a passionate drive to express an injustice.

French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre encouraged writers to be the latter. After having experienced the devastating occupation during the Second World War, a shaken Sartre believed authors had a responsibility to write about what is happening in the world. Silence is a refusal to speak and therefore violates the “code and law” of literature.

In an interview in The Guardian, author Lea Ypi warns, though, against rants. “Literature has this democratic function only because it doesn’t preach.”

Plus, preachy rants are boring. It’s hard to write social injustice stories well. Barbara Kingsolver nailed it with Demon Copperhead, as did Percy Everett with James. Bonnie Garmus proved it can be done with humor in Lessons in Chemistry. It’s the kind of writing I attempt.

Most of us have both kinds of writing in us, I think. We want to tell a story that gets people thinking. Sometimes we just want to escape.

Next time someone asks me why I write, I’ll say I’m compelled to tell a story on a topic that opened my eyes and I’d like to share that experience with others. But I want to tell it so well that readers are transported to a different world.

IN OTHER NEWS:

My short story, EXPERIENCE SHARING ACTIVATED was highly commended in a competition run over the summer. It was published this month in Frazzled Lit. I got to thinking about what happens to people who are mobbed over social media; and how we can turn that on its head. In our online world, privacy is a myth. We know everything about everyone, so it’s up to us now to think about how we want to react.

Finally, I’ve spent the last 18 months shamelessly marketing Budapest Noir: Ilona Gets A Phone and I have neglected my work on my second book. It’s time to get serious. I’ve found that social media is a productivity suck, so I’ve vowed to myself that I will only check it once a day, if that. This is of course my way of saying as the days get cooler, I’ll be lighting a fire in my furnace and under my ass and get serious about finishing this book.