Hey! It’s Monday! Must be blog post time!

I was surprised last night. Went out and spent a day with friends and came home to it. My oldest daughter had snuck a photo of me during my signing event in November. There I was, behind my table, with a reader in front of me.

She left a copy above my monitor, along with this note:

“Just in case you forget how happy writing makes you.”

That one sentence reminded me why I write. I do it because it makes me happy. Forget the work of promoting, editing, and being ‘on’ at a moment’s notice. Forget the months where the sales don’t even buy me a latte. It’s the simple joy of crafting a story. Taking a thread of an idea and expanding on it. Getting so caught up in the writing that you forget what time it is. Creating something that you hope just one other person enjoys.

So, why do you write? Think about it. If you write for any reason, that’s good. It really is. But there’s got to be a reason beyond financial. Because the money isn’t going to really come into play for years, if ever. You have to write because you love it, because you can’t not write.

If you’re happy when you write, regardless of the genre or what you’re putting your characters through, it shows. The reader can tell which author loves what they do, and which one sees it as a trial and only wants the fame they think authors have. They can tell when you lose the enjoyment of crafting a story. So, hang on to that. Do whatever you can to keep the love of writing.

BB