Why Do I Write?

I just recently received word that Passion's Vision is a finalist in Reader's Favorite. When I read the notice I remembered a blog post,"Why do I write?" that I wrote a short time back. I was actually thinking of this book when I wrote that post.

That character that just would not follow the plan was, of course, New Moon. New Moon appears again in Raven's Passion and briefly in Passion's Price, but I am seriously considering writing another page in the life of New Moon and Panther...Just for the fun of it.

Why do I write?

Is it because I have nothing else or anything better to do? Nope. My life is full, filled with all the wonderful and colorful challenges that make life worth living. It is merely because I have to?

Maybe I am compelled to write because I need a way to express my creativity? I don’t know about that.

I do know that very little is more fun to me than developing characters of such strong and opposing personalities it would seem impossible for them to mesh. Then I test their resilience, determination, resistance to accept change and any other test I can think of by dropping them into a scenario that will force them to grow or lose what it is they want most in their life.

I do plot out my stories. I have a nice outline to go by to keep me on track; I research the history, if it is set in a real life historical time, and then let my characters take over. Some of them will follow the path I have carefully laid out for them. Some of my characters will fall by the wayside to be replaced by bigger, bolder, or sweeter, less complicated souls. What really excites me is when one of my characters refuses to fit in or conform, but rather strikes out on their own to blaze a path that leaves me breathless with anticipation.

Of course, everything I am talking about is about imagination. We all have it. We all used it when we were children. It is what helped us to develop “Passion” for our future. It is where we got a glimpse of what we wanted to be when we grew up, our “Vision” for our future. We played and made games of the imaginary lives we would someday live and explored all the “Promises” that life would hold for us.

Then we reached an age where we realized there would be a “Price” to pay for the choices we make. Some of us analyze those choices and decide which ones are worth the price. Some of us ramble along and just experience what life offers us. Some of us throw it all to the wind, pay whatever the price, and never look back. We all have a path to walk, decisions to make, sacrifices to weigh. It is all a part of life. And what a life it can be!

Write it down! Let your imagination go wild! Become a child again and explore what makes life worth living to you. White stories about adventures you have had, adventures you wish you never had, but best of all write about adventures that you wish you had. Then maybe you too will experience what gives a writer the need to write.

Remember, It takes Passion to bring a Vision to Life.