Why Write?

The MEN say:

“Words are a writer’s tears.”
--Arthur Plotnik

“If a writer is honest, if what is at stake for him can seem to matter to his readers, then his work may be read. But a writer will work anyway, as I do, and as I have, in part to explore this terra incognita, this dangerous ground I seem to need to risk.”
--Frederick Busch

“Why do I write? Well, let’s see. . . that’s a tough one. Oh, okay, I know. Money. If I were not getting paid, I would never write – except perhaps when answering personal ads from hot, lonely co-eds. Aside from the money, there are very few advantages to being a writer. Only the stupidest of actresses sleeps with the writer. The WGA awards rank in prestige somewhere between the Clios and Animal Actor of the Year.”
--Lee Aronsohn

“If you did not write every day, the poisons would accumulate and you would begin to die, or act crazy, or both.”
--Ray Bradbury

Why Write?

The WOMEN say:

“Writing actually empties us and gives us the capacity to love in a completely different way.”
--Julia Cameron

“You go really deep and connect really large when you write, no matter what you’re writing about.”
--Natalie Goldberg

“Because writing is so often a way for me to sort out my world, I gave my novel’s protagonist, who shares my name, my most neurotic self and all of her concerns.”
--Shannon Olson

“If you would shut your door against the children for an hour a day and say: ‘Mother is working on her five-act tragedy in blank verse!’ you would be surprised how they would respect you. They would probably all become playwrights.”
--Brenda Ueland

“Writing something down often works as a magnet for other thoughts.”
--Marcia Golub