Why I Write: #IWSG Wednesday


Badge for Insecure Writer's Support Group

It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. The awesome co-hosts for the November 4 posting of the IWSG are Jemi Fraser, Kim Lajevardi, L.G Keltner, Tyrean Martinson, and Rachna Chhabria! Albert Camus once said, “The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.” Flannery O’Conner said, “I write to discover what I know.” Authors across time and distance have had many reasons to write. Join me this week as I answer part of the November 4th question:

Why do you write what you write?

I Write Like a Baseball Player

Why does a Professional baseball player play (Or at least why did they play before COVID-19 ruined the season)? That is as close a comparison as I can think of to explain why I write.

That young player ran with pure joy down the baselines, sliding into home base. When they signed on to play pro ball, they were thrilled. And now, they are delighted with the paycheck they earn. Even a pro ball player feels more glee playing a game of fastpitch with his family and friends than what he feels in the game he plays in front of the cheering fans in the stands.

I write for the same reason—for the joy of it. I put words together in a way that communicates with my audience and evokes emotions, and even elicits action from them. There is a thrill when someone buys my books or writes to tell me how my story has impacted theirs. Of course, I am happy that I can earn my living doing what I love. And I still get excited writing something for the fun of it.

Tangrams

I recently took a class for writing, because I can never learn enough. Throughout the course, there are writing exercises. The instructor assigned us the tasks of improving poorly written paragraphs. I relished the simple task. I was surprised that something so easy could be so fun. There was a challenge in it, of course. It felt a lot like moving around the pieces of a tangram to make them fit.

Wired to Write

I have a daughter who wants to be a biomedical engineer. She will often stare at an object, analyzing it for its strengths and weaknesses. If she tried to destroy the thing with one blow, where would she strike? She has done this since she was very young because it is how she is wired.

I am wired to write. Whether you are a “pantser” or a plotter like me, if you are a writer, it is because you are wired for it, too.

What Are YOUR Thoughts?

Please share how your writing world is doing in the comments below. I appreciate my readers as well as the writing community. To show that appreciation, I use Comment Luv. Just leave a comment below, and your latest post will get a link next to it. Thank you!

About Heather Erickson

I am an author, writer, speaker, and widowed mom of 3. Since doctors diagnosed my husband, Dan, with stage IV lung cancer in 2012, I’ve focused my writing and speaking on helping cancer patients, and their families advocate for themselves and live life to the fullest, despite their illness. My goal is to help people face cancer with grace. My books are available at Amazon.com:

The Memory Maker’s Journal 

Facing Cancer as a Friend: How to Support Someone Who Has Cancer

Facing Cancer as a Parent: Helping Your Children Cope with Your Cancer

I also blog about living with cancer at Facing Cancer with Grace.

 

 

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2 comments on “Why I Write: #IWSG Wednesday

Interesting about your daughter. I had to do that in one of my stories but more of a one-off. I like the idea of a character who does it as routine.

I guess we’re all wired to write here in the blogosphere. But not everyone is.

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