The Writer Will Take Your Questions Now #304 -- Why I Write (Revised and Made Honest)

What's the real reason you write?

The real reason I write is perhaps more existential than esoteric, I suppose. It has more in common with Hemingway's hero of mere endurance than with a romantic notion of being a conduit for fictional tales.

I write because I am vain enough to believe that not only do my words and my stories have meaning and importance and value now, but also will have meaning and importance and value to future generations. Writing is not just an act of creative indulgence but an act of profound pride. I own up to that.

Enough of that esoteric "I write because I have to, because these stories need an outlet and won't tell themselves" crap. I write because I plan to leave something of myself in a real, physical sense when I am gone from this world. I write because I believe that I mattered, and that I will continue to matter after I'm dead.

I write to prove to the world I was, am, and will continue to be here.