This month marks the 40th anniversary of the San Diego Writers & Editors Guild, the oldest group in San Diego “dedicated to promoting and supporting the writing art.” I’m pleased to share the passion of three Guild members who explain why they so love the writing art: ***
For as long as I can remember I’ve loved stories. Books have ruled my life.
If I wasn’t reading, I was writing. When I was 11-years-old, I’d write stories about girls who lived in a boarding school and the adventures they had. After I finished writing about girls’ boarding school adventures, I progressed onto teenage romance stories.
In 2014 I had an idea to write a story about the bond between five brothers, which was inspired by my favorite book, The Outsiders. The more I wrote the more the ideas flowed for my story and the more I wanted to write morning, noon and night. I couldn’t get enough of writing.
So, why do I write? Because I like stories. To escape. To create characters and a world that I have control over (except when my characters say, “Let’s go in this direction!”) To give something back to the reading community. To get better at it. To learn more. To take on a challenge. As a means of expression. To explore issues and concepts on a deeper level.
I can’t explain it. It’s something I just have to do. I feel incomplete, disconnected, like I’m missing a part of me if I don’t write. I can’t imagine my life without writing. I write because I have to. -Robyn Bennett, Chula Vista
***
Why do I love to write? It’s simple. Most of the time I feel good. When I’m writing, I feel better.
Most of life is out of my control. My kids do what they want. The economy does what it wants. Politics are crazy. But when I’m writing, all of that goes away. I create worlds and I’m in control. It’s a lovely feeling.
I’m not saying that everything is happy, happy, happy in the worlds I create, but I know and my readers know that ultimately justice with prevail, love will conquer and characters will find satisfying ways to continue their lives. What a wonderful place to be, and it’s all right there in my keyboard.
That’s not the only way I feel better. I had some major surgery a few years back. I was surprised to find that when I was writing, all the pain from the surgery went away. I wasn’t that hurting person sitting at a keyboard. I was facing a polar bear in Quebec or singing Eskimo songs in Alaska or riding a horse across the barranca in Baja California. No pain in any of those places.
Why wouldn’t I write? There’s no downside. -Caroline McCullagh, Clairemont
***
When I was 5 years old I wrote stories and created my own books.
When I was 15 years old I wrote a song for the school assembly.
When I was 25 years old I got divorced and wrote recovery poems.
When I was 35 years old I wrote an article and got paid $25.
When I was 45 years old I wrote a monthly column and got paid $100 each.
When I was 55 years old I wrote a book for someone and won an award.
When I was 65 years old I wrote a book for myself and published it.
Now I’m nearing 75 years old and retirement and I want to write full time.
I write lists. I write letters. I write emails. I even write texts!
Ideas come to me all the time. They wake me up at 2 AM. I jot notes while I’m stuck in traffic. I open book files in Word. I make up titles. I design mock covers.
I have approximately 20 books calling to me to write them.
It took 70 years for me to return to what my 5-year-old self was telling me.
Writing is how I express my unique voice. It’s my snowflake; my stamp upon the world. What I have to say and how I say it is like no one else. If I don’t write, I don’t breathe. I must write! I can’t not write!
That’s why I am a writer. –Andrea Susan Glass, Oceanside