Why I Write

Many people wonder why an author started writing in the first place.  I have thought about this from my own perspective and documented with a few things that motivated me along the way.  

I had a great high school English Teacher.

I had one of the best teachers for high school English.  She taught me to love good books and how to read for meaning.  I will never forget the days spent in the classroom on book discussions that broke down the plots and characters.  Without her guidance, I may have never developed the interest in discovering the great authors and reading their works for deeper meaning.

I am a people watcher.

I have always observed people and realized that every person has a story. Observing their actions, expressions and listening to conversations, I often find something to write about.  Many characters in my stories are based on many of my observations. They are never real people, but take on some characteristics of other people I have studied. It tends to spur my imagination and make some of my characters come to life.

Some have asked me before, “Is that character about me?”  I ask them back, “Do you want that character to be you?” It’s funny how they will pause at that answer.  I think some people see some things in each character that at times may reflect something in their lives. I encourage readers to place themselves into the story.

Music and writing both tell stories.

I always ask myself what comes first, writing the story or writing the music?  It’s kind of like the chicken and the egg. I listen to several genres of music and wonder if my book was a movie, would be in the soundtrack.  Sometimes, I listen to a song and hope that it will set me in the right mood to compose a chapter or scene. I want the reader to feel what I feel when I am writing.  If the scene is tense and intimidating, I want the reader to almost hear that type of background music when they read it. If the scene is more melancholy, I’ll slow my music down to the more mellow and contemporary love songs. Reading and music are two art forms that, at least for me, go hand in hand.

I love to write about the human condition.

I like to write about conflicted people.  It is the conflicts in our lives that cause us to think more deeply about things like right and wrong, good and bad, heroes and villains.  I want people to think about these characters and see their conflict. I want them to help the characters overcome their adversity. I want them to think about their own conditions and their own set of problems and how they would choose to solve them for the character.  Every reader likes to choose the ending they would like to see for the characters. The author writes just one ending. It may or may not agree with what the reader wanted, but I want the readers to be able to discuss with others how they did want it to end.

A quote by Oscar Wilde says, “The only difference between the saint and the sinner, is that every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.”  It is a quote that describes many of the characters in my books. They are neither as good or bad as they seem. I want to give them that characteristic.