posted
So I've been seeing lots of people lately talk about why they write. A lot of the answers are things like "because I like it" or "because I'm good at it" or "because I can't stop doing it." But I think I finally figured out why *I* do it.
It's simple really. I write because I am an extremely internal person. My personality type (well, part of it) is introverted intuitive. I'm also pretty right-brained. For me, the world inside my head is a lot more real than the world outside me. This ends up causing a few problems. (I absolutely hate driving, for example. I have to drive really far behind the person in front of me because of this. In the time it takes me to notice that the car in front of me has its brake lights on, register that something is different, remember what exactly that means, and then translate that into the action of slowing down, a fair bit of time has passed. This is not because I'm an inexperienced driver but because the word outside of myself just doesn't make a big impact on me.)
For the longest time I felt guilty about the fact that I often enjoy reading more than daily living. But I realized that this isn't because the character's lives are so much richer than mine. It's just because reading allows me to experience things in a deeper way than actually living through them might. Reading allows me to access certain emotions and pictures that everyday experience does not.
I want to write because I want to share the world inside me (the world that is more real to me) with other people. I suppose that's true of a lot of writers. When everything around me is quiet I nearly always have a conversation going on inside my head between fictional characters. This is how I process the world, and I want other people to understand that about me through my writing.
posted
That's a very interesting view, and I can see where you're coming from. I especially agree with the idea of wanting to share the world inside of you with others as well as how reading allows certain emotions to come out that are hard to get in real life.
However, I must say that there is no emotion/feeling/idea invoked by books that I cannot get out of real life if I think about it in the right way. Still books are the best way.
I must say though, instead of me being extremely introverted as a reason for writing (even though i am decently introverted) I would say it is more because I am an observer. For my whole life I've felt like I was on the outside looking in. And as I look in I see all sorts of connections and problems and, well, things that most people don't seem to see.
Add that to my dramatic mind (which, btw extends into much of my life) and you have a great formula for a writer. At least I hope so because that's really the only thing I can think of currently and I absolutely love it.
posted
I'm not saying I don't like living. There are plenty of things I can get in life that I can't get in reading. But reading is basically the fastest way for me to stimulate certain parts of my experience. I'm probably the most unobservant person I know. I usually pass by things in the world unnoticed. But if I read them in a book I do notice them. It's... just the way my mind works.
Posts: 132 | Registered: Feb 2006
| IP: Logged |
I'm kind of the same way. When I was young I used to always create characters in my head, and imagine stories taking place. I created many epic tales in my little brain, and often would exist in those worlds over reality.
When I got older I realized people made money doing that, so I decided to write my stories down.
I don't feel "compelled" to write at all. I just enjoy seeing my thoughts on paper, and sharing them with others.
posted
What you say sounds similar to the way I feel, though for me it's mostly a character-driven thing. I spend hours thinking about some characters, about conversations they might have and things they might do completely outside of the stories and worlds they exist in. Occasionally I even have conversations with them.
My friends and family members think I'm a bit of an oddball because of this... ^_^
What matters more to you? The worlds in your head? Or the people that inhabit them? Or the stories that pull it all together? For me it's definitely the characters, and I'm the same way when I read (I'll read the most meandering and pointless novels if they have a character I like in them). But I know a lot of people enjoy world-building, and I expect it also differs from genre to genre...
posted
Characters. Definitely. I play conversations over and over in my head with various twists. Sometimes the people in them are people I know, but usually they are just random voices. A lot of the time they are arguing. Maybe that's because I'm typically a very calm person, so arguing is the least familiar form of communication to me and thus the most intriguing.
Posts: 132 | Registered: Feb 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
Random voices? So are they characters that only take shape over the course of that conversation/argument?
I tend to create characters long before I create a story for them. There are a few major ones always floating around in my brain, who are well developed in my head, but have yet to appear in writing. I'll spend ages thinking about what they would say in a given situation... and what they'd do in scenes I know will never ever be written. And I can't seem to just write a short story and leave the character at that. They're always going off and doing more of their own thing elsewhere, until I end up wanting to write more about them.
Do you have a few characters you favor more than others, who keep reappearing in your head and in your writing? Or do you come up with new ones for every story?
posted
I don't normally get the character first. I see a scene. Then I spend time wondering who those people are and what the scene is about. From there a story begins to emerge.
That, however, is only until the characters are developed... once the character becomes an entity unto him/herself in my mind, I see things through his/her eyes and the scene becomes secondary to the character.
[This message has been edited by Elan (edited March 20, 2006).]
quote:I'm kind of the same way. When I was young I used to always create characters in my head, and imagine stories taking place. I created many epic tales in my little brain, and often would exist in those worlds over reality.
I still do that Though now I get my imagination down on paper/into a Word document.
Writing for me is a chore, something that I need to do because if I don't I feel... weirded out. Ever since I found out I could write decently well, I've put in the effort to improve and I see the results everday.
posted
Well, I get the scene and characters, and as I get the scene and further scenes I get scraps of dialog and stray sentences, and usually have it rolling around in my head before I get to the keyboard. I attribute this composing in my head to my early training on a typewriter---where once you've typed it out it's hard to change without retyping it. Now that I actually use a word processor I do a good deal of changing around, but the early habit persists. (I made three or four changes in this paragraph before clicking on Submit Reply---and two more while I wrote this sentence.)
Posts: 8809 | Registered: Aug 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Yeah, random voices. They usually become a little clearer over the course of the conversation. Sometimes I end up using them in a story, but not always.
I suppose characters are what pop into my head on a normal day. Places have to be inspired by something. In fact, anything physical has to come through inspiration, but anything circumstancial or emotional comes through the everyday process of daydreaming.
posted
The F/T distinction is a lot more important to N types than the J/P distinction.
I don't know why I write. I mean, I do know the direct reason, but I don't know the first reason. If I knew that, I'd know the ultimate reason...and vice versa, I suppose.
For now, I'm content to be working on getting better at it.
Printer-friendly view of this topic
Though now I get my imagination down on paper/into a Word document. 
)
