OK. Big question. We all do it; most of us will never earn anything from it, yet it consumes much of our time and energy. Pretty much all of us have been doing it from the moment we got a pencil in our hands, and most will probably be doing it until the day we die.

Why ? What is the motivator ? What makes us all want to spew our thoughts out onto paper whenever we feel high or low or moved by the world ?

Is it a disease of the mind ? Some kind of psychosis... a desire to be accepted, or just the inability to keep our thoughts to ourselves ? Is it nature or nuture ? Are some people just born to write or is it something society forces us into ?

What d'ya all think ?

I'm genuinely interested.

Cheers
Nod

Personally Nod, I write because I can't NOT write - I HAVE TO. Always have, hopefully always will.

For me it is almost always emotional, carhartic and a way of expressing my feelings that I could do otherwise. Most of the painful experiences in my life, at some point, I have written down before I could move on from them. I may never re-read, that isn't so important, it's the actual writing which is. I've worked out a lot of answers by my writing too. Also, I would never have the confidence to say many of the things I write. I can express myself in a way that I would be too nervous to do otherwise. I can even sometime write funny - but could never publically tell a joke to save my life!

I like words - I prefer written words - seeing them on the page in the order I have created. As the world's least artistic person, it is my only bit of creativity too.

It's a super question Nod, and I've given a personal answer because it's the only one I know, but I would love to know YOUR thoughts too.

Best wishes - have a good weekend
Shads

Carole, You're certainly NOT the world's least creative person - creation takes many forms and writing is only one of them. I've definitely found writing cathartic, although I didn't always realise that when working on the piece. Reading some of my past work I often find the psychology behind it all too obvious, although hidden from me at the time. Scary.

I believe we do it for many different reasons - ask yourself - if you knew you would NEVER be published, would you carry on? If you can answer 'yes' to this question, then your love of writing is a true one and your writing will have integrity. But it's wonderful to come here and know one's work will have an airing. That alone makes it all worthwhile.

Yes, good question, it would be hard for the answers not to be personal, I think. I found writing late in the day; it gives my existence a centre, I think I look out on the world with a particular eye and what the eye sees would just dissolve into nothing if there was only conversation to express it through, so I want to make it concrete somehow. That's part of it. Being able to create different worlds from the one I inhabit
and controlling what's in the imagined worlds removes me from a lot of the puerile stuff that we all have to live amongst, even though my material is taken from, sometimes pirated from, the 'real' world. Maybe it gives me something of a sense of control over my own destiny, and certainly my own 'now'. If I was living my life, just the same as it is now, but without writing, I'd be forever asking the same internal question 'Yes, and....?' or 'So what else is there? (about living and human life)' I think I was asking that kind of question all the time before I started writing and I was horribly restless. So maybe writing keeps me strapped down and out of trouble.

the simple answer is because I can

the additional reasons are because it gives me pleasure and by and large pleasure to those who read my work, but the later reason is less important than the former.

It also allows me to express my emotions , my thoughts and my ideas in a way which are readable and which people are more likely to read or listen to than other methods. It also allows me to spend some time in a make believe world where things are as I wish them to be.

Because it makes me feel good.

I started writing while in the depths of depression, and writing became a wonderful way to get my feelings down on paper. It helped me understand what I was feeling, and why I was feeling it.

Personally, I don't think that it's a co-incidence that since I started writing, my quality of life, and my passion for it, has soared ten-fold. If you had asked me last year whether or not life was worth living, the answer would have been a long stare and a derisive snort.

Now, I'm half way through a novel, two elongated short stories, I've written over a dozen brief short stories and even won a competition for doing so. Do I love life?

Yes, yes I do.

Oh this is so moving to read this - especially you Insane, as I identify with much of what you say!

A huge thank you Nod, for posing this question. It's our own little group therapy session now, and feels good!

Shads (sniff)

Insane - your post made me glad. Reading one piece you posted (written last year) almost had me reaching for the phone to call the Samaritans on your behalf. How about a change of name? May we call you Gareth? Or do you need to be reminded of how much better things are now?

Profound post Nell - I nominate you as resident therapist!

Seriously, maybe it is MY state of mind today, but I am finding this thread so moving I have a tear in my eye.

Thanks everyone
Shads/Carole/who the hell am I anyway?

What a fantastic question.

I always wrote as a kid. Being a military family we moved home a lot so I would write to my friends all over the country and abroad. I would write letters of sometimes twenty pages long - huge cathartic things to get everything off my chest and also finding out how their lives are evolving - kind of two way therapy.

I was good at school but found little to inspire my writing until I was about 14 when I really got stuck into everything from essays and journalim assignments to short stories. Poetry waws never really my thing.

As the real world of working for a living came into play, my writing went out of the window. Ambition, I think came to the fore instead.

It's taken my being disatisfied with my current job to allow the old passion for writing as a form of self expression to bubble through - now I'm writing plays, poetry and write a column for a magazine. It's really turned me back into a three dimensional person!

The point about writing if we knew we wouldn't get published is interesting - I've never expected any of my writing to get published but I do like to get people opinions on it and that has led to publishing opportunities. Writing is therapy for me so I would still do it. But the buzz of getting recognition from someone in the business of writing/publishing is second to none.

I have to say, I find the opinions of strangers easier to take on board than the opinions of loved ones. I think loved ones are more likely to be kind and therefore less constructive when criticising my work. There's also a certain amount of emotional baggage there. Also the fear of making an arse of yourself in front of people you have to see on a regular basis! What does everyone else think about that?

Lisa

Insane - your post made me glad. Reading one piece you posted (written last year) almost had me reaching for the phone to call the Samaritans on your behalf. How about a change of name? May we call you Gareth? Or do you need to be reminded of how much better things are now?

Thanks Nell. Looking back, it's difficult to see what was so wrong. It's true what they say, depression is an illness, and hoping it will just go away only makes it worse. Thankfully, those times are behind me, and with luck, I'll never find myself in that situation again. The name "Insane Bartender" is something I've been carrying around as an internet handle for almost 5 years now, and I never liked the name "Gareth" anyway. So it's IB, or, if you prefer, Gaz.

Right you are, IB 'tis then.

I don't know why I write. Over the past seven years - shit thats too long, I have gradually become increasingly isolated. It's not healthy! Whats more, I've given up my career, sold my house to generate money, don't enjoy it much anyway and I'm female writing a male pov. Is that odd? Is it a known phenomenom? Am I gay and don't realise or something? I'm sure someone must know.........

Mika, your post intrigues me. You say you don't enjoy it very much, yet you still do it. I suspect the reason is cathartic yet again. Perhaps you NEED to write. (No, Shads, I don't want to be the resident therapist#!*) I'd say go with it. Our unconscious minds usually know more than our conscious ones re. what needs to be done to put things right in our lives. Maybe the male pov you speak of is your alter-ego. We're all a maelstrom of male and female hormones, it doesn't necessarily mean you're gay. We need Hilary here - I believe she's a psychologist, I'm just speaking from instinct.

Mika

I cant see it matters if you are Gay you are still the person you are whcih is the important thing.

Nell raises a valid point about male / female make up

If i cry over the loss of a loved one does that make me female or gay or just somebody who cares for the loved one very much and is expressing their emotion in a way they find able to do.

If I chose to walk away form a fight rather than hit somebody back who has hit me does that make me a coward?

I am more intrigued by your comments that you hate doing it but still continue to write, is it not perhaps that you enjoy the writing but perhaps hate the lack of appreciation by others, or do you just find writing is an addiction?

The one thing I can say about this site is if you post you get comment and it is always constructive so I hope perhaps that that will stimulate you and bring back the enjoyment


INSANE

you'd have to be insane to have a name like gareth

take care

all

david