When the Devil On Your Tail is Called Obscurity

Why do we write?


Y'know, I've asked that question a few times. An author friend of mine asked this of me. I can only tell you that when I first started writing it was harder than it needed to be. I wrote on a desktop computer handed down to me by my aunt. I used to play games on it whenever I visited her house. When it got turned over to me it was pretty much on its last leg. The thing would freeze up, become slow or would suddenly shut down. But I didn't let that stop me.

I became driven to write the one story I had, the one that kept nagging me.

Looking back, I see the mistakes I've made and have learned a lot since then.

For me, writing is a way of tapping into the human soul, the human condition.

It helps me release anxieties, keeps me sharp and puts me in a mode of relaxation.

My first book took me a few years to write.

Now it takes me a few months.

For the past year I've been on a mission, a mission to make my mark. All told I have 16 titles available on kindle. I'm expanding to other markets such as Barnes and Noble, Kobo and iBook.

Nobody ever told me, "Hey you, get writing."

I just decided to do it one day.

And that's what it comes down to.

Writing is a decision. Whether you pursue that decision is entirely up to you.

For instance, I take writing very seriously. Whenever I start a project, I need to know if it will stir something up inside a person before I even write it. Anger, hate, joy, envy, sadness, fear: these are the emotions I want to pull out of a person. In order to do that, I let the story cook for a while inside my head. In my daily life, I fill in the blanks. Whether I'm doing dishes, taking a walk with my daughter or even if I'm picking up groceries, I'm always writing inside my own head.

Once I have the beginning, middle and end, I pull out my laptop and start tapping the keys.

From there I share it with my wife and a few other people.

After some polish and an added detail here and there, I upload it and offer free copies for honest reviews.

I've even given myself deadlines to help move the inspiration along. It helps to give yourself a schedule.

I've been writing for close to two decades and I'm not stopping anytime soon.

Because another little thing they don't tell you is that when you've put out your first book, you become encouraged to write more. Becuase there is always a little devil nipping at your heels. And that devil is called obscurity.

I'd rather have written 100 books and know that I wrote that much and be broke than to have never written a word and wonder what might have been. I don't care if the whole world became illiterate overnight, I'd still write. I've got more than enough stories to write and I have something to say.

If that's the case with you then, well, what are you doing reading this blog. You could've pounded out a short story in the time it took you to read this blog post.

As always, keep writing.

Oh, and don't let that pesky devil catch up to you.


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