Sitting at the computer, staring into my third novel and what it will take to finish it, I\u2019ve asked myself this question a few times. I think I can answer it in a round-about way\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u2019m pretty sure it was the last Jack Reacher book Lee Child wrote by himself, titled Blue Moon). Thinking about what I don\u2019t recall, but I hauled myself out of bed, made coffee, and sat down at my desk, brimming with frustration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then I thought, wouldn\u2019t 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<\/em>? 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 \u2018just deserts\u2019. Not only was it cathartic, but it brought me back from the melancholy I had allowed to creep into my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019s not why I did it. I know that now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019ve 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\u2019ll 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s 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?<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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:<\/p>\n\n\n\n