Why I Write Novels

I've probably done a post on this before.  But I think I can't say it enough, writing is hard.  It's not the hardest thing I've ever done.  A few other examples come to my mind for that category: serving a foreign mission for my church for 18 months, rehabbing a house, raising three kids would top my list.  But nevertheless, writing is hard.  Sometimes I don't want to do it.  Sometimes I doubt myself, my characters, my plot.  I feel trite, cliche', hackneyed, shallow.  I feel like a fraud.  So why do I write when I could be scouring pinterest for the latest and greatest craft for my house?  Why do I write instead of getting a night shift job that I would actually get paid to do?  Because writing benefits me in so many ways.

I learn patience.  I am so impatient.  Ask my husband.  I can't keep a secret, I snoop in Christmas presents, I want it and I want it yesterday.  Writing a novel takes a great deal of time, effort, energy to see the finished product.  It stretches me to my limits of my patience with myself and the story.

I learn to appreciate detail.  I am a big picture person.  I get bogged down in the details. I give up easily (see patience above) if there are too many little things that have to be done.  Writing is all about detail.  There's big picture stuff there, too.  I mean plot is pretty big picture.  But I have to make the scenes come alive with detail.  It's not that I don't observe detail, I do.  But to be able to replicate, explain detail to where the reader can see, feel and smell the scene takes great talent.  I'm working on that.

I learn about myself.  Sometimes when I'm dealing with something upsetting, I don't even realize until it comes out in my writing. This is my therapy.  I can write it out on a page, often in tears, and deal with it.  When I am angry about something someone said, I can retaliate in my writing.  Heartache becomes gold.  My best scene in my current WIP is a scene where her boyfriend breaks up with her.  Every heartache I've ever felt went into that scene.  It's burns off the page.  I can explore topics I can't talk about even with trusted friends, I can face fears I've never told anyone about, I can right wrongs.  It's healing.  It's cathartic.  It's like blood letting, but it makes for good fiction.

I learn about other people.  When I spend an afternoon or so in someone else's head, I learn to understand their motivations, their fears, their pain, their insecurities.  Writing gives me understanding of human nature, compassion.  It is as close to walking in someone else's shoes as I can get.

I play.  I'll admit it.  I write unrealistic realistic fiction.  What happens to my characters wouldn't happen in real life.  But wouldn't it be cool if it did?  I like to go to exotic places, or even places I've been but miss.  I can reminisce, relive, make alive, recreate, examine, explore places I can't in real life in the safety of my laptop.

If I happen to sell some stories, that's even better!  But I love my characters, my stories, my experiences with my stories.  I cherish the inspiration I receive, the laughs and the tears I've had.  Reading is powerful.  Writing is creation.