Today is “Why I Write” day!

  

I write because I don’t remember a time when I didn’t and I never thought I couldn’t.

I write because the voices in my head tell me to, which sounds crazy, unless you are a writer. Stories unfold as I sleep and for days after I can’t shake the nagging need to purge phrases and scenes. Strangers passing in conversation spark character sketches that beg to be fattened. Liken the feeling to a tea kettle on slow boil – eventually the steam has to go somewhere, and that kettle will rumble and squeal until it is released.

Something in my soul pushes me to tap away at my keyboard well past reasonable hours of bedtime. The blank page of a note pad is simply lines of a poem not yet visible, which can pose a problem when I am supposed to be taking notes for a meeting. Post-Its and Sharpies are my tools for chiseling away at a phrase or bit of dialogue that won’t stop morphing in my mind. Recently I woke from a vivid dream, with every aspect traceable to a recent event experienced, conversation had, or documentary watched. But the story created in rare hours of deep slumber was complete, it needed only to be put into words. In a frenzy I covered my bathroom surfaces in red dry-erase marker, making sure to detail every character and diagram every scene.

Sometimes

the need to write

is stronger than

the rational movement

to sit down and get it on the computer.

(My bathroom mirror. 10/17/2011)

My job of working with other writers in various stages of their own creations, is not a chore for income, but a gift of sharing. When an author entrusts me with work, I am honored. I get to understand that so many of us write for a million different reasons. Share “why you write” with the world.

The National Writing Project encourages writers to get involved today. Write On, my friends. Write on.

NWP Radio: On October 20 at 7 p.m. EST, the National Writing Project will air a live radio show to celebrate the National Day on Writing with interviews..

Tweet #whyiwrite: Tweet why you write and include the hashtag #whyiwrite so that everyone can see the many reasons people write.

Post on Facebook: We’d like everyone to post why they write on their Facebook pages on October 20 and encourage others to do so. Let’s create a national dialogue about writing!

icons & networking references, credit: NWP