While I know this isn't exactly about relationships, I came across it the other day and thought it might shed a little light on the person who created this tool.
Why I Write
As soon as I could read, my nose was buried in a book. My mother would scold me when she found me setting the table with a book in one hand and the soon-to-be misplaced silverware in the other. Travel to new places was easy under a layer of blankets aided only by a flashlight and a good story long after I was supposed to be asleep. My spirit of adventure blossomed fighting battles next to Gandolf or sitting on the banks of Plum Creek with Laura. Galloping through the forests of Big Bear alone, I could almost feel the powerful lope of Black Beauty beneath me as the wind ruffled my hair. In my imagination, I could be anyone and do anything; I was powerful.
When I was not able to read, I retreated into my thoughts, creating my own heroines and adventures that took me far away from the realities of life. I started writing stories in my head while driving down the bleak colorless landscape framing the interstate between my parent’s home and my college campus. Movie dialog wrote itself as the radio blared the soundtrack, and novels sprung from my own youthful dreams about how life could be. My mind never stopped asking the question, “What would you with your life if you could do anything?” I found a thousand different answers from sword fights in made up lands to hard won love in the big city.
All grown up, the creating and writing habit has never left. Putting words together feels like art. It creates beauty, emotion, and a deep sense of connection through relatable experiences presented in a collage of imagery, desires, experiences, and feelings. The characters I have nurtured have stayed with me, and as time passes, the more these intimate friends have to say about living. They demand a voice now.
So, why do I write? Because I can’t not write. Like a bug bite, once bitten, it itches like crazy until I relieve the itch.
But…I suppose the real reason is simpler than that. It’s fun, and it makes me happy.