Bon Journal

Why I want to write

The book "Writing for Magazines: a beginner's guide" by Cheryl Sloan Wray suggests that the reader list his/her reasons for writing. Mine is very long.

1. Be known as a writer [Writing is one of the careers in my portfolio, but it is nevertheless an important one, if not the most important.]
2. Have power of the pen. [Sometimes I'd even reveal that I'm a writer when I get bad service -- in the faintest hope that the shopkeeper gets frightened to give me a rebate!)
3. Get freebies. [I dream of the day when my reviews of restaurants, movies, hotels, events, and travel destinations become influential enough to get me invitations.]
4. It's therapeutic. [Writing is like taking a hot, bubble bath. After I'm done, I feel refreshed and relaxed.]]
5. Declutter, let go, dump. [So my mind can become free once again.]
6. Create. [I'm achievement oriented. I have to create. I want to create. I like to create something out of nothing. I also like to use leftovers.]
7. It serves a need. [Writing is not something nice to do or nice to have. It has become a necessary activity in my life.]
8. The path to bigger things, such as writing a novel or be respected as an international romantic novelist. ["Hey Mom, all those Harlequin Romances are finally paying off!"]
9. The practice that becomes a habit - practice becomes perfect. [I look forward to the day when I can churn out pieces quickly and effortlessly.]
10. Free myself. [First I have to make a clearing, i.e. declutter. Then I will have space to think and write.]
11. Record events, thoughts, ideas, conversations, anything worth remembering. [It's nice to go back to review what I've done. What did I do this time last year? This time, 5 years ago? I am a sentimental person, after all.]
12. Promote, market, publicise my web sites, my music, or other things I'm trying to get attention. [When I write about webhosting, I'm not only sharing my experience and knowledge, but also trying to get the attention of those that might need to hire me to help them choose a web host.]
13. Improve my writing. [Back to practice makes perfect. The only way to improve is to keep writing. Writing is one of those activities in which you can always get better.]
14. Get found in this world. [So far, many old friends and classmates have found me. New friends have also found me through my writing - that is, they were strangers until they found me and befriended me.]
15. Aesthetic, art. ["A thing of beauty is a joy forever." Keats did not just refer to nature or pretty women. The effort to make something beautiful is the pursuit of art --- aesthetics. And writing is no exception.]
16. It feels good. [Just like soaking in a hot, bubble bath when I'm tired, it feels good to write, when there is something to write about and it comes easily. It does not feel good when the writer's block invades. It becomes a real struggle then.]
17. See my name in print. [For some strange reason, I take tremendous delight in seeing my name in print. The thought of my written work being read by others motivates me to continue to write.]
18. Share the content of what I write with others. Relate to others. ["No man is an island." Writing is one way of communicating.]
19. Stepping stone to other opportunities. ["A rolling stone gathers no moss," but a stepping stone leads somewhere nice. My writing has opened new doors. The journey is only beginning.]
20. Get paid for it. [Ah! I bet you were waiting to get to this reason. You were probably thinking, is she so charitable and philanthropic to write for the love of it? But I don't see any reference to love, you say. Where does she get the money to allow herself to write? The answer is --- in the next journal entry.]

12 January 2004 Monday

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