Why I do it…

My horoscope the other day told me to reflect on my “dream”, and figure out what it is about my “dream” that has me so focused to keep going. As an unagented author, with one published book, I sometimes feel like giving up.  Funny how my horoscope knew this….  But it told me that once I grasped the knowledge (my why), things would fall into place.

It so happens that I read that paraphrased horoscope after finishing a favorite children’s book A Little Princess.

After reading this book, I was so happy. I loved reliving a story that I’d read before. I loved visiting the attic, hanging out in the schoolroom, and walking the puddle filled streets.  I imagined myself, penniless, in rags, trying to be noble. And I felt like a stronger person. A better person… all because I had a friend between the covers of a book.  The book left an impression on me as a child, and an even bigger impression as an adult. It helped shape my ideals in who I wanted to be. It let me visit a world I’d never get to see as a middle class girl growing up in Iowa. The book was a friend, an escape, a memory, and something I would always take with me. Once I read a book, no one can take that from me. It’s mine to cherish. It’s a part of me.

When I don’t have a book and I’m on long drives, or laying in bed, I tell stories. Sometimes I’ll even stare out the window and daydream. My stories allow me to go outside of who I am. They become my friend, an escape, a memory. Some of them, the stories I dwell on, I want to share with others. I want to introduce others to my characters. I want them to become friends with my friends (who aren’t imaginary to me.) I want them to jump inside my imagination, or experience something I’ve seen or heard.  I want them to get excited to turn the next page. And when they are done, I want them to feel satisfied.

That is why I write. I want to do for someone else what great authors have done (and still do) for me.

And now that I know and understand why I write and why I want my books out there for the world to see, things can begin to fall into place.

What’s your why?

 

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