Why do you Write?

"I don't think I want to be a pilot", my nearly seven-year old asked me. "Pilots don't have much fun. Can I be a scientist instead?"

"You can be whatever you like, as long as you are having fun", I told my son. "Enjoying what you are doing is the most important thing. It doesn't make sense doing something unless you have fun doing it."

Pat came the answer. "In that case, I don't want to study. Studying is not much fun."

I don't think I need go into the long discussion we then had about how it was important to do certain things now, so you could have fun later - any parent or teacher would be more than familiar with that particular discussion - but it did set me thinking.

I am one of those lucky people who has always had the privilege of being able to allow her career choices to be dictated by whether she was having fun or not. Sure there have been periods where I have marked time doing what I did not particularly like in anticipation of getting the experience to do something more fun in future. But for the most part, I have been able to afford doing what gives me most pleasure. The things I do outside work are also things I enjoy doing - running, reading, writing, photography. There are also the necessary evils - dusting, cooking, cleaning, commuting - but those are things that need to be done in order to survive, we don't have much choice in the matter.

Which then brings me to the question of motivation, and more particularly finding the motivation to write. All of us are either writers or have aspirations of being writers (and if you don't fall in either category, please crawl back under the stone you came from). Quick question for you - Why do you Write? Or, more accurately, why did you start writing?

There would be as many unique answers as there are people reading the question, but all of them will boil down to some variation of, "I started writing because I love writing."

The next question may need you to be more introspective - Why have you continued Writing? Answers can range from 'because I want to see my name in print', to 'because I want people to read my stories'. From, 'because I have stories to tell', to 'because my characters do not let me be till I write down their stories.' The answer may even be 'because I want to make money from my skill'.

If it is the last, you should not be seeking motivation - you have defined writing as your job, and you better put your head down and do your job or else...

But, if the answer is any of the others, put a 'why' before your answer - 'why do you want to see your name in print' - and keep doing it till you get an answer that boils down to 'because I LOVE writing'.

And the next time you find yourself running short on motivation, repeat that mantra to yourself, "I write because I LOVE writing." Once you realise that the reason you continue writing is the same reason that got you writing in the first place - the fact that writing is fun - the motivation to keep pegging away will come.

And if it doesn't? Maybe then you need to take a break from writing till the motivation comes back.

Happy Writing!
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Photographs- Author's Own.
Models - Would you like to borrow them for a couple of days, I promise I wouldn't ask for ransom to take them back?