So my post about Marquez got me thinking . . . I have just started this blog and all, and though my introductory post helped y’all to get a sense of what I do, I don’t know if it gives too good of a sense of who I am. I mulled it over a bit, and I’ve decided that I’m gonna do a series of posts about what writing is like for me, since that is after all one thing I want to write about (what writer doesn’t want to write about writing?) and it will give you guys a chance to get to know me. Since I’m pretty busy with schoolwork during the week, I’ll post the next part every Saturday (or at least I’ll try to). But before I start the series with how I learned to read (sure to be an interesting tale), I have to address the following question:

“Why do you write?”

It’s a difficult question, one that I have to ask myself almost every time I sit down with a pencil and paper. It’s a lot harder to justify the existence of writing than it is to justify the existence of, say, math, or science. Those people (most of the time) aim to produce something of practical benefit, so it’s easy to look to them and say that it makes sense for them to be doing what they’re doing. But writing’s a bit harder to get at. It seems to be something that people can’t not do. If nothing else, it’s just a fun hobby – like music, or skateboarding. And it has in common with those that if you are good enough at it, other people want to see you be good at your hobby – which translates to record sales, X-games spotlights, and in the case of writing, publication.

Although I think most people would be pretty satisfied with that description, it doesn’t quite capture the whole picture for me. Writing can be a very complicated, personal and sometimes painful endeavor. It’s not always fun, even if you decide to write of your own free will. And unlike skateboarding, writing is something that you are forced to do in school and throughout your life just for the sake of communication.

So why do I do it, at the end of the day? To be honest, I’m not entirely sure. I have some ideas for what I want to say throughout this series of posts, but I’m not sure where it’ll end up. That’s part of the fun. Watch out for “Write On: Part 1” coming soon to a blog near you!