Cause I Have to or Want to?

I have a friend. She’s a very special person to me and has been in my life on and off for fifteen years. We tried dating a few times, every five years it seems, and each time it comes down to something just not clicking. See, the thing is I don’t think she understands me. Well, most people don’t but that’s beside the point. What I’m getting at is that she doesn’t understand why I do the things I do. Why I’ve been trying to break into comics for the last seven years, or why I do photography. She’s not an artist. But to be fair, neither is my Mother, Father or Brother and they are no closer to understanding me then she is.

I think it comes down to a simple question. “Why do you want to write?” If you have an answer for this, then you are probably not a writer. This question also works for artists, photographers and a few different types of people in jail. It’s not a matter of wanting to be a writer; you either are or your not. Now that’s not saying that you can’t be a bad writer. And getting training to hone your skills is still highly recommended. But it’s not about ‘wanting’ to write; it’s about ‘having’ to write.

It’s all inside of your head, waiting to pour out on to the page. The trick is not thinking the stuff up, it’s letting it loose. If you don’t start letting it out, it builds up and then you end up with more of those people in jail. Creativity is as much a part of a writer as the desire for food or sleep. It has to be dealt with. It has to be set free.

When your mind is open to an infinite world of possibilities, the idea of sitting in a three by five cube eight hours a day, five days a week working a meaningless job might as well be a jail sentence. When creativity is flowing through your veins like a constant coke high, the only thing that seems impossible is the thought of not writing.

I don’t write because I want to, I write because I have to and I wouldn’t change that for anything.