Welcome to 40 Days of 3 Questions!
For the next few weeks, meet here every morning with a notebook or document to answer three questions about writing, about your status quo as a writer, or about the writing life. You can answer briefly and go about your day, or you can use this as a warm up exercise before your regular writing schedule. Whatever works for you, works for me.
Day 39 Questions:
- Why do you write?
- Why do you write what you write?
- What other artistic or creative outlets do you pursue?
You may post answers in comments or keep your thoughts private–your choice!
And here is today’s pretty picture:
Ramona DeFelice Long 
Easy. I write because I cannot NOT write. I’ve been writing stories since I could put words on paper with crayon. I may not always be a published author, but I will always write. I write murder mysteries because killing people (fictionally) is therapeutic. As for other creative endeavors, I love photography, which is also telling stories but in pictures.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What Annette said! I also write because it challenges me, it delights me, it and it makes my heart full when someone tells me my book got them through their mother’s surgery or their own recuperation. I write mysteries because that’s what I love to read and what I have studied most. All my novels have strong female leads – because I got tired of reading books by men that always referenced women’s legs and boobs. Other than writing, sometimes I sew and I always garden, but I don’t do art or play music.
LikeLiked by 3 people
“when someone tells me my book got them through their mother’s surgery or their own recuperation.”
Oh, YES, Edith. I had a woman contact me to tell me reading Circle of Influence got her mom through her chemo treatments. I sat and sobbed. Best compliment ever.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I need to write to get out all the stories that are clogged in my brain, and also to have a written record of my dad and our family history. I tend to write mysteries because I love them, especially ones that uncover truths from the past. I also find it interesting to explore the dynamics in the relationships of sisters and mothers and daughters. Other than writing I like to decorate my house (paint, move furniture), make pottery (especially raku) and creating mosaics.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I write mostly because I think that I have something to say. What I write is mostly social commentary along with some flash fiction posted on my blog sites or, in the case of some flash fiction, entered into contests. I receive no comments so I never know how well I’m doing in practicing the writer’s craft. My other “artistic” outlet is picking around on the guitar.
LikeLiked by 1 person
1.) Why do you write? Writing keeps me calm. It soothes my restless brain and provides an outlet for expressing feelings that are too difficult to express otherwise.
2.) Why do you write what you write? I love the challenge of writing a compelling crime story that will entertain.
3.) What other artistic or creative outlets do you pursue? My husband and I have a glass studio for stained glass, fused glass and sand etching gifts and promotional items. I also oil paint, sing, and love photography.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Why do you write? Because that’s when I feel I’m doing the “thing” I’ve been put here to do.
Why do you write what you write? I love reading mysteries; it’s my favorite genre. And you should write what you love to read, right? (And as Annette said, fictional murder can be very therapeutic.)
What other artistic or creative outlets do you pursue? I play piano, violin, and viola. I also do counted cross-stitch (fair disclosure, I haven’t done any of those for a long time for many reasons, though).
LikeLiked by 1 person
1. Why do you write?
I have to. I don’t literally have to, but if I want to remain sane, I DO literally have to. It’s my antidote to depression and that’s been proven to me several times when I’m not writing. I think other writers are built that way, too. (I see evidence above!) I know that, for some depression-prone people, exercise is the cure, and I imagine there are other ways to combat that condition, but writing works for me.
2. Why do you write what you write?
I wrote literary short stories for many years and submitted them without ever getting any published. One day I decided I’d REALLY like to be published, so I started writing what I most liked to read—murder mysteries.
3. What other artistic or creative outlets do you pursue?
I play violin and a tiny bit of piano and like to write music. I arranged several pieces for string quartet when I played in one in Dallas, and one hymn for orchestra at the request of a choir director. I also like singing in church choirs. Music has always been a big part of my life. I’ve also dabbled in painting with acrylics. I found that relaxing and fun, but I seem to be over it. My works hang on the walls of my office and I like looking at them. I doubt anyone else would. I love growing things, but am having back trouble and am neglecting my outside garden. My orchids do well, though.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t believe I have to write, but nonetheless I did, sporadically, through the crazy years of big jobs and little kids. Now that those things are behind me–as I say to my husband–we don’t golf or have a boat. What are we going to do, stare at one another. Writing has given me a post-work, post–PTA community, a little money in my pocket and a constant challenge and learning experience. The “business of writing” has kept my learning new software and skills. It is keeping me young.
LikeLiked by 1 person
1. “I write because I must,” I say that now but decades ago I didn’t know I was writing when I journaled daily. I wasn’t aware that I was pouring out my roving thoughts and over-flowing emotions, finding my voice. Journaling kept me connected to myself as much as meditation and painting did. The practices helped me empty and settle my mind. Handwriting about burning issues of social, familial, political life was such a relief. It made me feel that I was connected to a larger mind. It solidified my life, gave me confidence, strengthened my spine. Writing daily became a potent tool. At age forty, I wrote my doctoral dissertation, my first major academic writing. But it was too dry for my taste. I was addicted to free writing. I had so much more to say, to learn, to go deeper.
2. My formal writing is intricately interwoven with meditation and journaling. I write because the themes of my fiction reflect the stories I have been holding in my belly for decades. I still pour them onto the pages of my journal and revise them as formal writing. The process keeps me connected to my authentic self, to my fellow writers and to the world at large.
3. Before I turned to writing I was a professional artist. I no longer paint or draw much but I do take immense pleasure in cooking, indoor gardening and traveling.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Why do you write? I have written ever since I could write. For periods in my life I didn’t, but I always came back because my life was in turmoil and writing helped to get it out of my head and body. It sounds crazy, but writing helps me breathe.
Why do you write what you write? About twenty years ago I had two essays published in two anthologies. I like writing essays because they help me understand what I think. I also write poetry and have had poems published in chapbooks, also years ago. I still do both. I sent one crazy one in to a journal and they published it, telling me it was exactly what they were looking for. (Oops, there’s that prepositional sentence ending!) I decided I wanted to write more (stories and a book) and took some classes which were fun, but my brain longed for the type of guidance which didn’t come. Which is why I’ve been stalled for so long. My brain is much happier learning about a premise and what characteristics a character must have to be well-rounded. Keep those classes coming, Ramona!
What other artistic or creative outlets do you pursue? I like to grow things, indoor plants only now since I can’t do a rose garden. I cook and bake and experiment with food. I take pictures. I sew, crochet and knit though sewing has dribbled down to not much. And I lost my favorite knitting needles in our move and haven’t allowed myself to buy new ones; I must try and find the old ones and it’s time to give that up! I’ll only find them two days after I replace them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Why do you write? I go into melancholy when I don’t.
Why do you write what you write? I owe it to the soldier who asked me to write his experience during WWll.
What other artistic or creative outlets do you pursue? Gardening, Latin dancing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I write because I am a happier, healthier person when I spend a good chunk of my time with people who only exist because I made them up. 🙂 More seriously, I write to explore the experience of being human, and to share that with other people. I write about women’s lives because that’s what interests me; mystery, perhaps, because I’ve been reading them since childhood, the genre connects easily with my career as a lawyer, they let me bring order to a chaotic world, and people enjoy them. I cook and garden; my painting, in watercolor and pastel, has taken a backseat in recent years but I still love drawing, browsing galleries, and thinking about painting again! .
LikeLike
I want to add that my husband is a musician, and we have a lot of friends who are musicians, painters, potters, and artists in other media. I love the cross-pollenization of talking art and process with other artists, and the joy of seeing their work unfold.
LikeLike
Day 39 Questions:
1. Why do you write?
Because I don’t feel complete without writing. Sometimes daily life becomes too demanding, and I can’t fit in any writing. As several others noted, that can be depressing.
2. Why do you write what you write?
I write mysteries now because I enjoy reading them so much. I like the puzzle aspect and suspense. Also, most commercial mysteries end with the feeling that wrong has been righted and justice served.
In the past I was a reporter, turning out at least one feature a day, and I enjoyed that a lot too. In addition to the writing, I liked interviewing interesting people, asking questions I couldn’t have asked if I hadn’t been on assignment. I’m still sometimes accused of “interviewing” in a social situation.
3. What other artistic or creative outlets do you pursue?
I used to play the piano and sing, but those activities have just about faded away. Although I never developed as an artist, I recently served as a docent in a small art center. In the years that I taught at a university, I enjoyed working with students. I get similar satisfaction working in a critique group.
LikeLike