Saturday, May 21, 2011

Why I Write

Last week I spoke to a book promoter.  We all know that it is easier to promote non-fiction than it is to promote fiction.  She asked me why I write fiction when I could obviously write about a subject that I am an expert in and use my book to promote my business.  I told her that I’ve been writing fiction since I was a little girl. I still have several unpublished works that I would like to get out there.  I started writing before I ever started doing what I do for a living.  She gave me the sound advice to write a book about my job (which shall remain anonymous).  I already have a following and writing a non-fiction book about my practice will enhance business sales and help me save up money to promote my next fictional work.  

This was very sound advice and she was right.  Hec, my husband has told me the same thing.  Unfortunately, I have two personalities.  There is the very knowledgeable lady who makes money being an expert in her profession (which shall remain anonymous).  This lady is very sane, very practical and very focused.  But then there is my other personality, Lacey Reah.  Lacey Reah is wild, outrageous and passionate about life.  Lacey Reah cries at movies and her eyes shine when she sees something inspiring.  She reads books and gets lost in them.  She loves a good story.  Lacey Reah is who I am when I’m not making money and she has always wanted to write fiction.

After speaking to this book promoter, my two personalities started to collide and I started looking into the idea of focusing more on my business.  Then, I read something beautiful and I watched a movie that took me away.  What is wrong with fiction? What is wrong with escaping into the life of another person and seeing the world in a different perspective?  What is wrong with writing a story, with reading a story that challenges the imagination and inspires others in a non-conventional way?  When I indulge in my hobby of reading, or watching a play or a movie, I remember the reason why I write.

I don’t write for money or to get more clients. I write because I have to.  I write because deep down inside me is a boiling pool of passion and if I don’t write about what I feel like writing about, I will explode.  I write to preserve the beautiful moments in my life in symbols or in stories I make up.  I write because it feels good.  I write to experiment with ideas and philosophies that are important in life. They may not have a place in the office or in my profession but they make my life richer.  I write so people may read my works and laugh or cry and think.  

In my struggles to tell the world about my novella, Fireflies, a novella that is erotic with a great plot and characters, I asked myself if the novella is not successful, would I do it again?  Would I give up writing?  I’m almost done writing a story that explores faith, prejudice, religion and society.  It was a struggle to write but if it isn’t successful and I went back in time, would I write it again?  Absolutely.  I had to write it.  It helped me to deal with issues I could never understand if I didn’t make up a story about it and put myself in the shoes of characters who are not me. 
Why do I write?  I write because I have a voice and if no one is there to hear it, I’ll still write.  I’m a writing fool I guess:

I end with a quote from Faulkner's speech at receiving the Nobel Prize:

"I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. The poet's, the writer's, duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. The poet's voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail."




I'm curious, why do you write?

5 comments:

  1. How beautiful, Lacey! Thank you so much for sharing why you write...

    In my professional capacity, I've found that authors nearly always break down into one of two, basic groups; one group writes because they WANT to, the other writes because they HAVE to. I’d venture to say that you are the latter group. :-)

    Don't ever give up on your passion; you're a gifted author and have so much yet to give to your readers & fans.

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  2. Thanks Bobbie! Thanks for supporting writers too. We can use all the support we can get!

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  3. You're welcome, Lacey.
    It's truly my pleasure to help and support authors. :-)

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  4. Lacey, great post. I won't say all of the reasons I write here (although at your Book Blogs profile, I'll direct you to one of my own posts), but I will say that while we seem to focus on some different areas, our passions are very similar.

    Paul D. Dail
    www.pauldail.com- A horror writer's not necessarily horrific blog

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  5. Hi Paul. I can relate. I am marketing a fantasy erotica but I keep my blog eclectic so people know that is not all I write about. Real people, I find, are more multidimensional than the ones in fiction.

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