Why I write...
By Liz DeJesus
I get asked this question pretty often (all the time
actually). Why do I write? And there are a lot of reasons why I choose to be a
writer, why I pour my heart out day after day. It really depends what mood I'm
in because the answer changes. So because I feel like telling you...here's a
list of reasons why I'm a writer.
1. My mom is a writer and I wanted to be just like my mom.
This is very true. I remember waking up every morning to the sound of my mom
tapping her fingers against her keyboard (back then it was a typewriter). The
gently click clack of the keys was the best thing to wake up to. I kinda miss
that sound. Anyway, one day my mom gave me her typewriter (she bought a new
one) and I felt as though I had been given the greatest gift of my life. At ten
years old I felt like this moment would be forever etched in stone. I've been
in love with the written word ever since. :)
2. I was lonely. Actually...I was a lonely, shy, nerdy,
introverted girl with only a couple of friends. The rest of the time I was at
school being bullied by the students (and some of the teachers) because I was
different. So I spent most of recess hiding in the library where no one could
find me. I felt safe surrounded by books. They never hurt, or insulted me.
Never told me to shut up. So it was only natural that I would gravitate towards
the one thing in life that made me feel safe. Books.
3. I loved books. I remember this one book that I read over
and over again when I was twelve. It's titled The Curious Clubhouse by
Christine Govan. It was my very first grown up book (it had a lot of chapters).
It was another important moment for me. This was the one book that made me feel
as though I wasn't the only one that was being picked on or pushed aside. I
wanted to write a book for that girl that was lonely just like me. I wanted to
write a story that would let that person know that he/she wasn't alone in the
world. That they matter. That they're important. That it's okay to be different.
4. I have a very overactive imagination. I'm pretty sure if
I didn't write my brain would literally explode. And I mean....KABOOM! Brain
chunks everywhere.
5. I once had a boyfriend tell me that my manuscript would
be dipped in red ink if an editor ever got a hold of it. So I wrote another
novel out of revenge. And it got published and I'm still getting royalty
checks. So it's okay to write out of revenge. (And yeah....I dumped his sorry,
un-supportive ass).
6. Because someone told me I couldn't write in a specific
genre. A long time ago someone left a comment on my blog saying that I would
never be able to write a horror novel. Challenge accepted! I wrote a horror
short story and a novel and both got published (under my pen name, I recently
got the rights back to that novel and I'm revising it to submit it to another
publisher).
7. To impress a boyfriend. When I was thirteen I got into
poetry to impress my first boyfriend. He was cute. Don't judge me....you
would've done the same. Turned out I was actually pretty good so I stuck with
it.
8. Another boyfriend told me that I would never amount to
anything (yeah...I had a really bad string of boyfriends, I had to kiss a lot
of frogs before I found my prince) and I told him that one day he would see my
name in lights. Still working on that. And knowing me the way I do...I'll make
it happen. ;-)
9. Because I heard an awesome song and all of a sudden a
scene popped into my head that was begging to be written.
10. Crazy dreams. Trust me, that's how I get my most amazing
ideas.
And these are some of the reasons why I write. Anyway I hope
you enjoyed my little blog post. :)
Thanks for coming by, Liz!! And it's kind of scary how many of our reasons overlap! Check out her books at www.musapublishing.com and of course on Amazon, B&N, etc.!
