Someone asked that question on a blog the other day: why do you write? What drives you to spend hours, days, weeks, months, even years creating articles and stories and books?
I had to give that question some serious consideration. It’s not enough to simply say I have a passion for writing, because that begs the obvious question “then why do you have that passion?” So, today, I will try to be as honest as possible and attempt to answer that question.
MOVE OVER, FREUD
For me, really, bottom line, it began during my early childhood, and the type of person I was becoming. I was a runt. I was quiet. I was shy. I was completely unsure of myself, and I was convinced that most kids did not like me. Consequently, I retreated into my own little world. It was a world of books and movies, stories and make-believe, safe havens where I could learn about life without bullying and without feeling inferior.
Feelings like those are deeply-ingrained. They do not magically disappear when one becomes a teen, a young adult, or even middle-aged. As an adult I was a card-carrying member of the Introvert Club. I avoided group interactions. I rarely gave my opinion on anything to anyone I did not know extremely well. Only my closest friends and family members knew what I felt about social issues, and only one friend, my best friend, knew anything about my inner-most feelings. I was protected with my walls up. It was extremely difficult for anyone to storm my castle and breech those walls.
AND YET
And yet I had a need to be heard. Silence and introspection are fine if you are a hermit, but I wanted people to know me, I wanted people to hear my opinions, I needed people to recognize my existence. The old question goes something like this: if a tree falls in the forest, and nobody is there, does it make a sound? I did not want to be that tree, but I did not know how to avoid it, having built a life of avoidance for so many years.
Hello to writing!
Through writing, and thanks to the internet, I was able . . . I am able . . . to reach out to people and share my thoughts. The internet provides protection from face-to-face judgments. The internet is my safety net, and at seventy-two this old man still needs that safety net.
Writing truly is my tool for communication, and in a very real sense it has been my connection with the rest of the human race.
THE MARKETING SIDE OF IT ALL
People have often asked me why I don’t spend more time marketing my books. They tell me I’m good enough to be published, and I really need to make more of an effort to do so.
But that misses the whole point about why I write. I don’t write to be published by some major publishing company. I don’t particularly care if thousands purchase my books. I’m just that ten-year old kid, pounding on the typewriter, trying to release his thoughts and hoping someone hears them.
I just want to be heard by someone.
And, so, I write! Writing is my legacy. Decades from now, someone will read an article I wrote online, or pick up one of my dusty books, and they will read my words and know, for a moment, that a writer by the name of Bill Holland existed, and they will know who I was and how I felt about life.
And, for that, I am grateful.
Bill
“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”
Billybuc
Artistry With Words 
You know Bill I have been asking myself the same thing, Why am I here all the time at my laptop pounding away on the keyboard? Well, for me it is that I just love to write and share all kinds of things with others, Second I am always looking to make some additional bucks, and lately, I am hoping to score some big bucks in Vocal Media with their writing challenges. It has become the way of life for me, However, I do know one this to keep this up I have to find some kind of really good writing assignments and lately that has been rough to do, I hope all is well with you and you’re having a great start to the new week.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and motivations, Rasma. I hope you find what you are looking for. It is, without a doubt, much more competitive than it was eight or nine years ago when I first started as a freelancer. Good luck!
Who needs Freud, Bill? You’re way ahead of him. Leaving a legacy – it’s not just about the here and now, for sure, and we all have something to leave behind. It might as well be something worthwhile.
Thank you, William, and thanks for visiting me in October, your traditional resting month. I appreciate it.
I find that the answer to that question opens many doors in our interior worlds–I am glad that you write and glad to know you Bill.
That is very kind of you, Audrey! It is very nice to know you as well, my friend.
I too am an introvert. I too find it difficult to get out there to encourage others to read what I write. However, I do want to help as many people as possible with my writing which, for me, means that I have to market. Not market as a pushy salesperson, but as a person who wants to share what has been given them.
And you do it well, Donna! Best wishes to you, and thank you for taking the time to visit me.
You are so kind! Thank you!
I hear you. I see you. I’m like you. Writing is so much and none of it is about best sellers lists. After being in the industry and seeing what “best sellers” are for some and how much more it has to do with marketing than with actually having good content, I became jaded about those. While I do still respect NYT best sellers and a couple of the others, I just want to write to help those who are pulled toward my writing. I do market a tiny bit but I do so in a way that is comfortable for me.
Bill, I love that you started writing. I love that you keep writing. We need people like you. We need you. ❤️
Shell, your comment filled me with warms and fuzzies. Thank you so very much, my friend. It was so sweet of you to give me just the right words of support. I appreciate you very much, and I hope this finds you well. Hugs from Olympia!
My love and best wishes for the coming times. Stay blessed.- Manatita
Thank you Manatita! My best to you as well, my friend.
Well said, Bill.
I find writing so therapeutic 🙂
Thank you my friend. I hope this finds you well, Ruchira!
Yes, just yes!