Green's Hill-Amy Lane's Home - News

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Why I Write

Oh God. I must be at the bottom of the blogging barrel, because dude… doesn't everybody do one of these?  I mean, somewhere out there, isn't there a quote from every novelist who ever gnawed on a pen talking about why they write?

Ugh.

Because I'm telling you, I've got nothing profound, or if I do it's going to sound pompous as all hell.

So, lessee, lessee… why I write, why I write… 

I don't think I'm going to count the number, because we all know how that ends.

Why I Write--

*  Because it helps me get rid of the voices in my head.

*  Because it seems to justify my internet shopping addiction.

*  Because I thought amazon.com was a celebrity site and I'm too blind to be paparazzi, so this was my way of being a part of the club!

*  Because in the 80's, none of the romance writers would say "cock" on the page, and I had a burning desire to fix that.

*  Because the love triangle thing always seemed so short sighted-- why can't she have BOTH, goddammit, WHY?

*  Because the real life diet consists of me not eating, and on the page the literary diet consists of one character telling the other to eat.

*  Because a friend of mine told me that I would leave my mark in little ends of yarn from knitting, and I realized that the only think we really remembered about Shakespeare's clothes was that he didn't like French hose because it cut off circulation to his balls.

*  Because unlike anything else in my life ten years ago, when I put something on the page and showed it to the world, at least somebody in the world said, "Good job!"

*  Because I'd spent my entire life learning literature and teaching literature, and goddammit, I wanted to do some literature!

*  Because my colleagues at the time mocked romantic literature and crazy artists, and I couldn't understand why they didn't see that the literature we taught and the writers we studied were often just the same as the romantic literature I read and the crazy artists they mocked. 

*  Because I'd been losing myself in my imagination for most of my life, but saying I was "writing" just made it sound cooler.

*  Because I've always been an opinionated little shit, and writing gave me a way to voice my opinion without giving in to my irrational rage.

*  Because the people who read what wanted to write were just as crazy as I am, and when everybody is the same sort of crazy that's a community, and that's where I wanted to live.

*  Because when I'm at a party, boring stories about my family are a reason for me to drink and other people to shun me, but when I'm blogging, they're considered "networking" and "work".

*  Because I had the cat and the computer and writing was the only place to go after that.

*  Because I had stories to tell, and for no other reason.  I had stories to tell, and the first story wasn't enough and the second story wasn't enough and the third and fourth and fiftieth haven't been enough.  I write for the same reason I talked to my stuffed animals and saved up anecdotes to tell my husband and got the degree with the thirty extra units in English and was so zealous about the subject that I had to teach it to spread the word.  

I write because I have stories.



See?  Silly and pompous.  Was I right or was I right?

7 comments:

Donna Lee said...

You write because if you didn't, you'd explode.
You write because the world needs to have clear voices telling true stories (fiction or not)
You write becasue there are people who read.
And lastly, because YOU ARE A WRITER AND IT'S WHAT YOU DO.

Unknown said...

Silly and pompous? NAH....Honey, we all pull out our Driver's License or Voter Registration Card or Birth Certificate from time to time and just wonder, "Am I REALLY this person here?" When we were younger, we gave into the bizarre need to justify our existence by taking a week or so this time of year to toss our clothes and our common sense to the winds for a brief moment to live free and insane. We called it "Spring Break" As we got older, we forgot just how necessary it is to lose ourselves to our wilder natures for more than just the 'hunter/gatherer' forays into the digital jungles.

You're cool, honey, you're cool. Further, until you've actually transformed the homestead into a living replica of Green's Hill or Promise Rock, you're still grounded on the planet...and the rest of our "Tribe" would agree. Now, if I actually start building dolmen or a henge on the lower pasture, you'll know I've 'rounded the bend' and it's time to call in reinforcements to help herd me to the funny farm.

Hang in there...here, have a cheese danish.

Helena Stone said...

I went back to check but no, I couldn't find a single pompous word or sentence in that post :) And while it may be true every writer eventually writes a post like this one (which means I'll have to try and figure out why I write at some point in the future), I find every single post like this fascinating. So, thank you for sharing your not-pompous reasons for writing.

Unknown said...

Because you have to write I get a chance to read books that I really enjoy and know that I'll enjoy for years. And besides when I come into work in the morning, I get to check and see what neat thing Amy Lane has blogged about now.

Unknown said...

Whatever. I'm just glad you do! I love your words and I love you and I wouldn't have either if you didn't write. How's that for selfish? ;o)

Unknown said...

Whatever. I'm just glad you do! I love your words and I love you and I wouldn't have either if you didn't write. How's that for selfish? ;o)

lessthan said...

Amy! The "why can't she have both?" is one of my favorite questions! It drives me crazy to watch an hour, a two hour, or entire series of plot based on the love triangle. 90% of the time the 2 competing interests are best friends anyway. They can't see past their own selfish possessiveness for the love of their life and their best friend?? Argh! Spiderman 3 was a terrible movie and its worse sin was no James Franco/Tobey Maguire threesomes, implied or otherwise.