Why We Must Write 

By Gary Bryant. USA.

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    I suppose individual writers would offer various reasons for why they must write. I have my own.

Characters and their stories have constantly churned in my brain since elementary school, living their lives and creating their story paths inside my head.

 

   My cousin and I created elaborate stories that we turned into movies using an 8MM camera until we went our separate ways to college. We chose separate paths for our created expression. He now works in the movie industry in Hollywood. I turned to writing books.

 

   Through college, I wrote short stories for creative writing classes, then ceased writing fiction upon graduation from college. For 35 years, I wrote no fiction whatsoever.

 

   However, the writing didn’t stop in my head. Even when I wasn’t writing, I considered myself a writer. The stories nagged at me, wanting to find their way into the world. Finally, a few years ago, I began to write fiction again.

 

   I forgot how therapeutic writing is. When I write, my mind entirely focuses on the story I’m pouring out through my keyboard. I forget the outside world. The story is my world. Its problems are my problems, all solvable through the strokes of my keyboard. It’s an especially excellent de-stressor to write at the end of the day to dissolve away other issues that come from real life.

 

   Secondly, I write to share my stories with others. I believe each of us is blessed with some innate talent that allows us to enhance mankind in some small or sometimes greater way. For me, I like to think my storytelling ability contributes positively to my fellow man. My characters and story are constructed in a way that hopefully inspires others either as a desire to emulate a character’s behavior or in the revelation of redemption for past mistakes.

 

   Admittedly, the third reason I write is for acknowledgement. Any creator of art truthfully wants to know that others appreciate his or her work. It brings great satisfaction to see positive reviews of your work, or for that matter, just have a reader give you a compliment in person. As writers, we live to have others appreciate our work and give it validation.

 

   Perhaps the most important reason of all is the pure enjoyment we receive. My writing style is that of a pantser. I know the ending of my story when I begin, though it is subject to change, but how I will get there is a relative unknown. Each story I write is a new adventure. I create characters with little idea of which way they will go or what they will do. I don’t know who they will meet along the way. I am like the reader finding new twists and turns as I go. Nothing beats a good story!