Authoress blogged
about writing for the market vs. your heart yesterday. It got me
thinking about why I write. I’ve actually been thinking about this for a couple
of weeks, since the NCWA conference.
I’ve always written
the stories that lived in my heart. I’ve never been interested in writing to
market trends because when you do that, you end up missing the trend. Or worse,
you’re viewed as someone trying to catch a ride on what’s hot and unless your
manuscript is SO awesome that it gets past the slush pile, it may end up
hurting you. By all means, write a gripping novel but don’t say (or think) it
will be the next Hunger Games. There’s only one of those.
This gets me to the
deeper question of why I write. That’s not an easy answer and I’m still
exploring it as I move forward with the revision of my WIP and start
contemplating the start of my third novel. I guess the bottom line for me is
this: I want to write an entertaining story that people will revisit again
& again. If the story happens to make them think a little bit about a
topic, that’s a bonus.
All stories have
messages, whether or not the writer intends or even believes so. Good stories
with tangible, relateable messages live beyond the current trend, the bestseller
list, the flash in the pan – those books live on forever because they transcend
just the written word. They carry heart and that’s the story I want to write.
What about you? What
stories reside in your heart that are screaming to be told? Why do you write?
The cliched answer is "I write because I can't not write." There's much truth in the statement as with most cliches.
ReplyDeleteThe reason I write is because it's what the Lord has for me to do. Simple in words, a bit of a cliche itself, not so easy in spite of the directive, but true nevertheless.
Although there've been gaps in the writing over the years, it goes way back to my childhood. Summers in blanket tents spent reading and writing stories, accolades for stories throughout school, and then once I'd learned to get the focus off myself and put it where it belonged in such matters, the Lord instructed me to write a novel. And so I did. And then I wrote several more. And I'm still doing it. They belong to Him so I must wait on Him to see what He's got in mind for them . . .
Wow, Nicole, thanks for sharing. Such a rich writing past! No wonder your stories have so much soul today.
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