Why Do I Write????

Since retirement, people often ask what I do with all the free time I have now.  I stop and think, and I try to imagine free time!  I don't seem to have much of that even in retirement.  Then I mentally list for myself all that fills my time:  mentoring, writing, flute lessons, quilting, sewing, needlework of all kinds, reading . . . and oh, yes, there's my family . . . children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  Sigh . . . like a young mother with a large brood I suddenly feel tired after that mental exercise.

So, I opt to give a shortened list of the things I truly enjoy, and at the mention of writing invariably the question is, "Why?"  I must decide whether to give the full story or a shortened version.  Today I'll give you the short version, and in a few days I'll continue with the rest of my reasons why.

My Writing Blog

First answer to "why?" is that I love words, grammar, and the parts each plays in creating a story, reporting facts and history, and even in the reading I do.  I just love words and all that makes them a part of anything written.

My second answer is that I love to write those words down, either by hand or on the computer.  I love bringing words together in sentences, then paragraphs to create a gift to someone else of the written word.  How, with all the reading I do, could I not want to give the gift I have received so many times to others?  When I read, authors transport me to places in history, they take me on journeys of the mind, they teach me things I'd never thought about before.  Truly books and stories are gifts to those who read them.

The third reason, and my last for today, is that ink runs in my veins.  That's right -- not blood but ink in my veins.  You see my father, or dad as I called him, was in the printing and publishing business.  From early childhood, I could smell the print shop on him when he arrived home in the evening.  Even when he moved into management, dad loved being "back in the shop" with the typesetters. 

Here he is sitting at a linotype machine in the shop.  He loved what he did, and he had a great deal of his life story tied to printing and publishing.  Some day there's another book to write, I suppose.

Dad was also an avid reader, and together we would read things he'd brought home from work.  Later, as I grew older, we'd talk about them.  I think perhaps that common love we had for printed matter strengthened the bond between us.


So, for today I've begun the explanation of "why I write."  I've never been published, other than on web sites.  No books bear my name as author.  But I continue to write because I love it!

Q4U:  Why do you write?

What I Mean by "Righting"

I agree it is an odd usage for the word and not one we hear frequently.  And yet it seemed to fit a dual purpose.  It is my opinion that during my childhood and through a part of my adult life I was wronged by a parent.  Deep in my soul I feel a need to write that story out in order to find healing for myself and in the off chance of publishing my work.  More strongly, I feel that in writing my story I will also accomplish a righting of the wrongs that worked against me for so long.  It is a painful and slow process, and one I'm just beginning.  I don't know exactly how it will all work out but I firmly hope that in some way my writing might also help you.

As the verse of Scripture above, the Lord has plans for you and for me, "plans to prosper" us and "plans to give us a hope and a future."  Won't you come along with me?

Welcome!

As you can see, this blog is very much "under construction."  I want to write, and so here I will practice that craft.  I want to write about my life, and so here I will offer vignettes and memories of my life in hopes of someday publishing a book or collection of short stories.  It is not my intention to bore you or to tell the stories of others.  I sincerely want to tell my story.

My fascination with telling my story comes from a love of words -- spoken, printed, sung.  I'm the daughter of a printer and publisher, and I've been told that ink runs through my veins rather than blood.  It's my belief that the purpose of words is to allow us to share our stories and memories.  So, here in the next few weeks I hope to begin doing just that.

I hope you will enjoy what I write to share, and I truly hope that if you have comments, you will leave them here for me to read.  Let's even think about becoming friends along the way!