Why Write anyway - What's the Use?

Why keep on beating the keys when no one seems to be reading and certainly not buying to a profitable degree? I suppose it takes a case of the 'can't help its'. When something is in my mind that won't go away (if it wouldn't land me in jail), I have to write it down to get some peace.

Have you had a child interrupt you over and over while you were trying to do something? You try to continue your task but the child persist. Finally, you answer just so you can get on with the business at hand. Love those children but sometimes they can be, shall I say continuous. So, you take care of their business so you can get back to your business. A story can be much like that. It starts as an idea that may even seem foolish. Then, it just builds until, like steam in a boiling pot, it must escape.

One of my favorite authors, Frank Peretti, writes wholesome Christian novels and I think he has a series now, greatly impressed me with his story of his early years and his first book. He had failed to get it published and finally tossed it in the garbage can. His wife rescued the book which later sold millions of copies. Someone believed in him. The editors did not, at first, but his wife did and sometimes one is enough.

I cannot write like Mister Peretti. Nor can I write like any of the other famous authors that I respect greatly. Like all writers, each of us must be true to ourselves even in the face of failure or criticism.

When I wrote Harvest 2050 AD which is a free add on to Preserved Intellect, I felt injured by the words in the book. To think that humanity could bend to such evil deeds insulted my faith in people. Is it not better to cry snake and avoid the bite than to wait until after the damage is done? I make my stories fiction in the hope that someday they do not become historical facts. These are stories of science taking things beyond moral boundaries. They are not long stories for I wished to leave the darkness of the pages as soon as possible.

Transient was an escape for me from the darkest side of mankind to, what we think of, as ordinary life. It is sad that ordinary must include the tragedies that engulfed some of the characters. In life, even adults need heroes. I know I certainly do. I don't mean a perfect person to look to, rather a person who maintains high standards even during adversity. Tommy Bookmark faced danger, loss, had to delay his dream and grew old while duty held him captive. Yet, he gripped his cross with determination and found joy along the way.

Suppose there are no rewards for spending the hours it takes to pull a story together. Suppose the dreadful task of checking and rechecking the work is a waste of time. Then is it a story that should not have been told? Perhaps, one day, that one person will find that one thought in my books that changes their life for the better. Even if I could quit writing, I think I would still drum out the stories for the hope that they will somehow make a difference. A good difference in some one's life.

Writing

I've been trying to write for years. No money yet though. I cannot say whether I have been successful or not. It depends on how success is measured.

Some people write about stuff they really don't care about or actually have little personal knowledge about (hence research), so they can make a living at the writing trade. Others spend much more diligence on a story, rewrite, recheck, submit, get rejected, and go on writing. So, is it public acclamation or personal satisfaction that is the measure of success?

I wonder if any writer is satisfied with his work, particularly those who write stories of fiction. I remember when I first started, I thought some of my work was pretty good. Now, I look at it and realize that I had a long way to go. I look at my work now and realize I have a long way to go as well.

I have learned to tell a story and keep all the characters in character. Still, (as you can tell from my work) I do not care much for grammar check. It just seems to me that if I want to say something a certain way (in my style) why should I listen to a computer program that may or may not have been put together by a successful writer. Hence, my failure as a writer.

It seems to me that if a person does not love to write that they will probably get discouraged very early and quit. I have not yet been able to quit, so I either am a writer or too pig headed to know that I'm not.

In our day, editors and publishers are looking for a sure money maker. A rejection does not mean the work is not good, it just means they don't want it. Mark Twain is famous but I doubt he could get his work published nowadays. That goes for Edgar Allen Poe as well. I'm not in their class, just saying many people who read do not want to think while they do it, so publishers have to print what sells. Often, I think, it is nonsense with a well-known name on the cover. I must admit big names sell better than good writing. But what do I know?

Successful? Who knows. If you measure success in dollars, success may never come. If you measure success in the pleasure you get from telling a story, success may come when you finish the last chapter and your characters have become part of your life.