Why Writers Write: Mountain Climbing Syndrome

Sometimes writing is just plain old hard. The words don't flow. Fleshing out a story idea is like lifting weights, searing your brain. 99% of the time, writing is grunt work. So why do it? What compels a person to go through that much work when the payoff is little or nothing?

To see if it can be done.

It's the same reason geared-up climbers dot the peaks of Mt. Everest. The challenge is irresistible, even if it might cost them their lives.

Yeah. I hear you. No one ever died writing a book. Maybe not, but there are dangers aplenty. Last time I went to Starbucks to write and there was only 1 seat left in the place, I almost pulled a muscle sprinting to nab it. Why go to all that trouble?

The Top 3 Reasons Why Writers Write

1. To see if you've got the guts, stamina and raw courage to finish the dang thing.

2. A sense of supreme achievement when you move from the crowded camp of I-want-to-write-a-book into the wide and open plains of I-put-my-money-where-my-mouth-is.

3. Addiction. If writing is in your blood, once you start, you're hooked.