So, I just finished a chapter of my latest project, and I'm super excited about it. It got me thinking about what I loved most about writing. For me, It would definately be when I finish writing a certain chapter, and just love it so much that I can't seem to sit still. I stop writing, and all I can think about is what's going to happen next. So, for no other reason apart from just making conversation, what do you guys love about writing? What keeps drawing you back?
For me, the draw of writing is what I believe is the exercise of (my own) imagination. The words themselves lead me to a (maybe psychological) place where I don't go when I'm doing any other thing. I lose all track of real-world "place" and emerge into a quasi-real-world place where many things make sense to me in a way they often do not, otherwise. I'd be less than accurate if I didn't add that "writing," for me, includes many things besides simply putting words on paper (or pixels on a screen). It also includes understanding what I'm writing, investigating various ideas, ensuring that the words I choose to use (and the punctuation that goes with them) are a precise reflection of my meaning and intentions (best I can). It also includes a review of what I write, to hunt for places where I might've failed or flubbed or been unclear. Although fiction is my ultimate aim, the magnetism that draws me to imaginative writing is far from being limited to fiction (I can get equally immersed in promotional advertising or even in carefully crafted nonfiction). But my favorite experience is mixing reality with some unusual, some subtle, or some blatantly fantastical counterpart drawn from what I think of as reality's flip-side.
I just love making something new that is completely my own. Inventing characters, backstory, settings - all of it. I love to create a new world where every detail is mine.
I think it's because i don't like my life much. So i create a realm of the unimaginable and bath in it. Then I write about it because i have nothing else to do. Or I want to share my dream with the world.
Many reasons. In part, it is like an escape. But I love to create and writing is just another outlet which allows me to do so. When an idea comes into my head it just explodes and I really can't stop thinking about it till I get it down on paper or at least tried to. Maybe I somewhat write out of necessity to keep my head clear lol. Best, Whiskey
i don't think about writing that way... it's a way of life to me, with no particular favorite part... i write for the same reason i breathe... because i can't not do it!... and i love the whole process... yes, even the slogging parts like research, proofing, and editing...
I wouldn't say it's my favorite part (What i write is what it is, i love nothing, nor say i hate it either) BUT i enjoy the effects of writing for the better half of a day and sitting back later i nthe evening to read what i have achieved for that particular day (knowing i wont read it again for quiet some time/editing). It's the benefit of writing off the top of me head rather then planning. I have no real idea where its going yo go (though i have an idea as i do "check points" but nothing more). I enjoy progess. Be it the story or something i have learned for the day.
I enjoy the idea of complete control within my story. I can do just about anything within them. Now of course I don't take this mind set when I am trying to write a serious story. But the idea of it being possible, is nice. In my fantasy writing I love creating a very detailed world. Where I can pick a different person and event within this World and continue exploring it. I would also love to make a series that while most of the stories would be stand alone, there might be connection to other books within the series. Thought of a series of stories set in a small town involving teenagers. I guess a great example of what I mean is Degrassi: TNG.
I like exploring the characters. When I start a story my characters are generally well thought out, but when I'm actually in the thick of it, placing those characters in different situations sometimes has surprising consequences. I'll sit there and think, "That makes perfect sense! Why didn't I think of that before?"
Writing is the closest to being God that your typical citizen can get. Sure, you could paint a picture, but you're limited by your drawing ability, not to mention that a painting is a static image by its very nature. Or you could make a movie--sort of a visual, moving story. But you would require actors, and those actors all have limits of their own piling on top of your own limitations as a director (not to mention the budget). And, of course, you can daydream. But daydreams have the ultimate limit: they are stuck in your head, and they can never truly get out. They're not real in pretty much any sense of the word. But writing? You're only limited by your vocabulary. As long as you know how to use words, you can do literally anything you want inside your stories. Ninja robot mice? Sure! No gravity? Why not? Heck, why not just make up your own laws of physics? As long as you can have it make sense in the world you're creating... No, scratch that. It doesn't even have to make sense if you don't want it to. Maybe that's the point of your story: a world of madness, where nothing is as it should be. Because while you have a pen in your hand or a keyboard under your fingers, you are the God of your own universe. Your realm, your rules. It's even up to you if you want to try to make something your peers might like. Though, admittedly, if you intend to sell your work, you might have a hard time finding a publisher for your anti-gravity mechanical ninja mice warring against the magical sharks from a parallel universe. But you never know! ....But for a more down to earth answer, I love writing because I love my characters. I never create characters that I don't like in some way, simply because I consider them to be the best/most important part of any story. I don't care if you have the most amazing plot to ever grace the stars; if I dislike your characters, I'll dislike your story in general. The reverse also holds true.
My favorite part of writing is the little "inside jokes" that I add to my writing. These are things that would not have any particular meaning to anyone but me (and perhaps close friends). They always make me smile when I read them again.
I love it when you find a character's/narrator's voice and you just run with it. I end up with such an immense amount of satisfaction. With the voice, everything else just falls in place--even if the first draft is crap. I can always fix it if the voice is there. I love that feeling of things "clicking" and you are consumed by the need to write. It becomes a necessity, like breathing air . . .
Just the feeling of writing is pure nirvana for me. I enjoy every bit as much but if i were to single out a particular part i'd have to say reading the little unplanned nuances which my characters develop over the course of the story. Things which i would have never included had i known about it before.
Escaping from my life and getting lost in my characters world, i have pretty much grown attached to my characters.
Its the only way I can express my grievances and what not. My poems are like mini rants because I have nobody to talk to about my troubles so I hide them in verse.
amen to that! here's a piece i wrote on the subject years and years ago, titled 'worlds without end': http://saysmom.com/maia/content.asp?Writing=161
