Thoughts on Writing

Many moons ago, another writer and I decided we were going to write a book together. We were relatively new to concept of writing something longer than a weekly column, which is typically around 650-750 words. Your average book is about 300 pages. 250 words a page. When one does the math, that a hellva lot more writing than a copy in a newspaper.

We decided we were going to pen the next best seller about writing. After all, Stephen King did it. Yeah, we'll pause a moment here to realize that King might have actually had something to say about writing considering he'd been doing since the beginning of time.

For various reasons, the majority of them based on the fact the two of us had no business telling other writers how to do it when we weren't even sure what we were doing, it fell through. As Anne Lammott says, to paraphrase her brillance, few writers actually know what they are doing until they actually do it.

The thing about writers is that we aren't like others. Most creative sorts are much different than other individuals. I suspect we've been dropped on our heads one too many times, but that's just one theory why most writers, or even artists, tend to be the ecletic, if not eccentric.

I can't exactly speak for all writers when I say that I don't understand what it is that compels me to write. But...I think it is a general consensus with most writers. I can back up this theory by making an observation.

In books, even in movies, how many storylines revolve around a writer? Take King's work for example. In Bag of Bones, the protag is a writer. Lisey's Story is about a widowed writer's wife. Not to forget Misery, "1408" (a short story from Everything's Eventual), The Shining, The Regulators, Desperation, you get the idea.

Then there are movies like my favorite, "Something's Gotta Give." I could go on and on, but it doesn't take much brainpower to realize there are a whole lot of writers writing about writers in effort to understand what makes us writers.

I've been asked many times why I write. And every time, my answer is, "That's a good question."

I don't know why. While other kids were content with a box of crayons and a coloring book, I wanted a pencil and a tablet to write on. While other kids were hurrying off the bus to go watch TV or play, I'd run inside hoping I'd gotten a letter from one of many pen pals.

Writing has served as a means to preserve, understand, and express. Beyond that, I don't know what makes me tick or drives me to continue. But I guess I'm in good company because even Stephen King seems to be trying to flesh it out himself by writing about writers.