Do What You Love

“If you could be paid to do something you really love, what would you do,”
Professor Daniel Gilbert asks in a Prudential television commercial. One woman responds, “I’d be a writer.”

I understand the sentiment. The romantic idea of being a writer, of working on your own schedule, of having an audience, of being anonymously famous...yes, that is what I want. But for most of us that is just a dream. But still we write. Why do we do it?

For me it’s just something I like to do. It’s fun to allow your imagination to run wild, to see characters spring to life and grow, and to sometimes be surprised at where the story takes you. My wife and daughters play instruments and sing and make art; my main creative outlet is writing. Everyone should have something in their life that inspires.

And, I’ll admit it--I would like to someday be a paid writer. But if I never get a penny, I am nonetheless a writer, and ultimately that is enough for me.

If you are a writer, I’d like to know why you write.