Different people write for different reasons. Some for money. Some for fame. Some for posterity, and some for popularity.
John, the author of the fourth Gospel, said he wrote “that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:30, NIV).
That may be the best answer of all time to the question, “Why do you write?” I can’t top that, so I won’t even try. I can offer only these 20 reasons I write:
- For the love of God.
- For the love of others.
- For the love of words.
- To change lives.
- To express myself.
- To process my thoughts.
- To leave a legacy.
- Because it’s fun. Enjoyable. Sometimes.
- For money. Very little, but still . . .
- To learn.
- To honor those whose writing has changed my life, many times over.
- Because I can’t help myself.
- Because I’m vain enough that I like seeing my name in print.
- Because it’s among the few things at which I’m relatively capable.
- Because sometimes, in the moment, it’s so wonderful that it makes me laugh.
- Because sometimes, in the moment, it’s so wonderful that it makes me cry.
- To stir up the gift I believe God has given me.
- To grow in faith, as I find that my writing fuels and often stretches my faith.
- To be read.
- To be healed.
So why do you write (if you do)? What drives you? What keeps you going through critique, revision, and rejection?
