Thursday, August 05, 2010

Ten Reasons I'm a Writer


I’m at the Catholic Writers’ Conference Live this week. I adore this conference and have waaaay too much fun connecting with live people to take time out to blog. So this is prepared ahead of time.

1. There are too many people living out their lives in my head. If I didn’t exorcise some of their stories, it would get too crowded to think!
2. Along the same lines, it keeps me from sitting in a corner of my room, staring blankly at the wall while in my mind, I live their lives with them.
3. I can indulge a snarky side of my personality without anyone getting mad at me. (Or if they do, they can write about it on the Internet, giving me more publicity!)
4. I love to read my stories aloud to my kids and hear their laughter and comments. It’s the best compliment in the world when Steven starts reciting my lines at random.
5. I really don’t care much for discussing current events or celebrity gossip (more and more, the same thing). Writing allows me to explore a lot of issues without getting into what I consider the banal.
6. It’s a great escape from reality.
7. I can learn about a lot of really cool things without having to be an expert on any of them. This suits my impatient attention span just fine.
8. I’ve always been one for telling tall tales, anyway. It’s nice to get paid for them.
9. It’s rewarding to know I touched a heart—or made someone snort soda out their nose and enjoy the experience.
10. What other job lets you spend copious amounts of time locked in your own head, yet enables you to communicate with the world?

4 comments:

Vusi said...

"Ten Reasons I'm a writer" has just inspired me and given me reasons to write. I always thought that writing is for special people, but, thanks to this article I know better now.

Karina Fabian said...

Hi, Vusi,

Thanks for your kind words. Writers are special, but that doesn't mean you don't qualify, too. Just remember the difference between a writer and someone who wants to be a writer is that the writer put words on paper.

Good luck! Let me know how your writing goes!

Darlene Hartman said...

Karina, you've just about covered it! Also, living all those lives makes us feel as if we've been alive for centuries, if not millenia, and gives us the chance to see the world from other perspectives, too.

I loved "Infinite Space, Infinite God", and am looking forward to reading the others as well.

Karina Fabian said...

Darlene! Long time no hear! Thanks for commenting--nice to hear from a kindred spirit!

Infinite Space, Infinite God II is still in publishing schedule limbo. It's supposed to be sometime this Fall. I'll be sure to sing from the rafters when it comes out.

Hope you and yours are doing well.