What Made You Want To Become A Writer?

[roda havet]

I started writing because I love poetry and the way you can express yourself doing so. As I have never really had any expectations for myself, I just write to write because I love doing so. Now I'm writing a novel and enjoying every minute of it.

[MDevyn56]

As a child I loved listening to my mother’s stories. That was my first encounter with the joys of reading and story-telling. I grew up to be a major bibliophile and even now make it a point to read at least 10 books every week. I feel a well read person has more to share with the world than an ignorant one.
So, yes I would say writing was my passion. I started out as a story teller to a group of 3 younger cousins and now I write for the world. Mainly however I write to feed myself with stories and to beat the stress of daily life. It is my private refuge where I collect my thoughts and pull them together to get them on pen and paper.

[kamalayka]

I wanted to inspire in others the sort of sensawunda SF writers had inspired in me.

[Function]

My dad's bookshelf. I was 9 years old, so I hadn't read any of it yet, but there was a lot of Stephen King, among other great books like the Foundation series and Lord of the Rings. I was fascinated every time he told me about a book and why I should read it. I wanted to inspire the enthusiasm that my dad had, and the fascination that I had.

I realized I was not-terrible when I was 18 and a good friend goaded me into joining a Star Trek simming group (I don't know what defines something as a 'fanfiction', but we had a rule that we couldn't use canon characters, and it had to be PG-13, so no...uh, you know, weird stuff). The main activity was writing and co-writing short stories about our characters in one long continuity. I was writing a new entry every day, and getting better every day, so I tried my hand at my own fiction.

[roda havet]

You know the more I think about this question I remember that one of my high school teachers encourage me to continue to write my poetry as hobby. But this was only after we had to turn in assignments on poetry and I had already written about 5 or so at that time she had looked over them for me. When she introduced our class to poetry something just click with me and I really enjoyed it even the part where I had to get up in front of my class and recite one, which always seem bad to me. I wasn't the type that liked getting up in front of people in class. But I love to read and write just because I find both to be very refreshing plus it's a good way to express one's self in many ways.

[Gen Yakka]

I've always written and fiddled around with words. I just didn't think I was any good at it - heck, maybe I'm not any good at it! Over time I did the occasional class or workshop, and was always encouraged, which I found encouraging and every once in a while I'd write something good enough that I sent it out and it got published. I thought that maybe one day, I'd get around to seeing if I could do anything with my writing - which really means if I could find the discipline to work at it and not just rely on the occasional spurt of inspiration to create something new.

Then my cousin died suddenly. Went to work one day - admittedly as a chopper pilot which isn't exactly the least risky job in all the world - and didn't come home. And that changed everything for me (and for his brothers as well). I realised that if not now - well when? I didn't want people standing at my funeral (a long time down the road I hope!) and saying 'you know - she was always going to get around to it, and she never did................'

So now is the time for me. I write to create something new and to share my world with others.

[James A. Ritchie]

[G-Girl2]

My brain got full so I decided to download some of it to an external hard drive.

[rob40]

The kids have creativity. that got me started, children's stories but then the other stories I wanted to read weren't out there in that genre. If my master plan comes to life, I will lead that genre into popularity. We all have to have a dream sometime. Until then, I will pound away.

[jlrich0]

I didn't choose writing, it chose me. Frankly, I'd rather be golfing and traveling blissfully through life worried about what to buy next, like most everyone I know. Instead I find myself dwelling on a fictitious Amish girl who lost her young aunt and and two toddler cousins in a fire. I examine her world and how the event has forever changed it. I could write a hundred thousand words describing just one scene, one encounter. There is that much there, in every scene... of every life. The challenge is to pair it down into a neat little package worthy of interest.

This is but one distraction that keeps me from the vanilla world that surrounds me.