Sitting at the computer, staring into my third novel and what it will take to finish it, I’ve asked myself this question a few times. I think I can answer it in a round-about way…
It has been a few years since I started my first novel. I remember that morning vividly. The small digital clock next to my bed had just ticked over to 3AM and I was still wide awake. Work had been driving me nuts and I was gripped with anxiety. In an attempt to distract myself, I had just finished reading a book that got me thinking (I’m pretty sure it was the last Jack Reacher book Lee Child wrote by himself, titled Blue Moon). Thinking about what I don’t recall, but I hauled myself out of bed, made coffee, and sat down at my desk, brimming with frustration.
Then I thought, wouldn’t it be interesting if I wrote a quick story about this nightmare work scenario where the jerk I was dealing with got what he deserved? And off I went. Over the next few weeks, my work situation did not improve. But, how I handled it did. I would gleefully deal with all the BS knowing that when I got home, I would return to the world I had created and serve up some ‘just deserts’. Not only was it cathartic, but it brought me back from the melancholy I had allowed to creep into my life.
Long after the work situation was resolved, the story I had begun was still moving forward. And it morphed into something I never imagined it could be. It took some doing, a significant investment, the help of a professional editor, and several revisions, but I eventually got my first supernatural thriller novel into respectable form and released it out into the world. I have yet to see much if any return on that investment, but that’s not why I did it. I know that now.
Sure, at first, I had stars in my eyes thinking it would be the next big hit, maybe even a movie! Reality eventually set in, and I came to understand that moonshot fantasy had little chance of hitting the mark. What I’ve come to realize is that I had to write that novel, as well as the second one (my first romantic suspense novel). There was really no choice in the matter. As a person, I was stuck. Immersing myself in the craft of writing helped me to grow as a man and move past the impediments life had plopped in my way. If I never sell more than a few novels, I’ll be happy with the fact that writing made me a better human not just because I accomplished the feat of completing a book but because I expanded my consciousness in doing so.
It’s my firm belief that, although people may claim to write for fame, fortune, a burning desire, or because they were talked into it, there is actually a much deeper reason as to why someone would take on the monumental task of constructing a manuscript. Sitting down at the keyboard and looking back into yourself, facing the demons and angels that have both plagued and propelled you, is a daunting task. Anyone writing with any depth will eventually come to this threshold, the question is, will you have the guts to step through?
This question was originally answered on Quora.com and reproduced here in an edited form. You can follow this link to view the original post:
https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-reasons-why-people-write-novels/answer/Gransom-Hayes-Author
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