Why do you write?

J.H. Farr · 10-03-2010, 02:28 PM

People often ask me this, so I've posted the following blurb at http://www.farrfeed.com:

Why I Do This: "When I'm able to write like that, I feel ecstasy and unity with all Creation. It's like an athlete performing an 'impossible' feat with seeming effortlessness and grace. I live for that... When I'm in that state, I don't care about money or sex or food. I don't care about who I am or what I am. I don't care if I'm in the front of the line or at the very end. I don't even care if I'm alive or dead, because it seems I'm in the same place, either way."

It's all about being "in the zone," in other words, and to experience that, I'd do this whether I got paid or not.

Your thoughts?

John Hamilton Farr
Author
Buy TAOS SOUL at Amazon Kindle

neilmarr · 10-03-2010, 04:40 PM

Your words sing to me, JH. Thanks for the melody. N

J.H. Farr · 10-03-2010, 05:12 PM

Thank you, sir. I'll try to deliver more of the same!

pigeonweather · 10-03-2010, 05:24 PM

nicely put. i like to live with my story, feed it, dream about it, talk it over with my child, watch it grow, follow it along and ultimately set it free, like placing a paper boat in a stream and waving goodbye. That journey is my reward.

It can be kind of addicting, though. As soon as I finish one, I experience a bit of "post-write-um" depression, and start scanning my brain for another story to tell.

James_Wilde · 10-03-2010, 05:29 PM

Because I have to.

Writing should carry a government health warning.

J.H. Farr · 10-04-2010, 02:13 AM

I was thinking about this earlier tonight and remembered something important: even when I was a little boy, riding in the back seat of the family car, there were narratives rolling along in my head. Descriptions of where we were going, what I was seeing. In that sense, I've been "writing" almost since forever.

matthewcplourde · 10-05-2010, 10:25 AM

haha - I feel the same as James Wilde...

J.H. Farr · 10-05-2010, 10:47 AM

Hey Matthew! Great blog you have, I just bookmarked it. And BTW, Mike Cane (@mikecane on Twitter) describes a writer thusly:

"a person who must write, who is unsuited to everything else except writing"

Works for me...

John Hamilton Farr
http://www.farrfeed.com/

neilmarr · 10-05-2010, 12:03 PM

***there were narratives rolling along in my head. Descriptions of where we were going, what I was seeing***

Me too, John. I guess the novel builder is born when the kid asks himself: "But what if ...?" Slainte ba. Neil

durkinrobinson · 10-05-2010, 12:16 PM

I write to make sense of the world. The older I get, the less sense there is to make, so the possibilities are endless.

M T McGuire · 10-05-2010, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James_Wilde

Because I have to.

Ditto. If I didn't write, I'd go mental.

bthrowsnaill · 10-05-2010, 05:13 PM

For me the ecstatic moment is the moment of creation when I imagine a new scene and it just feels right. I usually get fragments (sequences of words) of dialogue or description in these moments. I'm usually listening to music and it is a real high. Interestingly, the writing is not always such an intense high for me - especially if I'm fleshing out notes from one of these creative moments. Sometimes the creation and the writing can happen at the same time. But more often than not I'm in the car during these creative moments, so the writing comes afterwards.
Had one of these moments this morning. Driving too fast in the rain while listening to Gary Numan's "Cars". The synth line in that song always enraptures me.

M T McGuire · 10-05-2010, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bthrowsnaill

For me the ecstatic moment is the moment of creation when I imagine a new scene and it just feels right. I usually get fragments (sequences of words) of dialogue or description in these moments. I'm usually listening to music and it is a real high. Interestingly, the writing is not always such an intense high for me - especially if I'm fleshing out notes from one of these creative moments. Sometimes the creation and the writing can happen at the same time. But more often than not I'm in the car during these creative moments, so the writing comes afterwards.
Had one of these moments this morning. Driving too fast in the rain while listening to Gary Numan's "Cars". The synth line in that song always enraptures me.

OK, strike my rather glib (but true) reply earlier. I had to comment again because Cars does it for me too (not forgetting Our Friends Electric). Again and again it's music that inspires me. Does anyone else find that?

Do you listen, drift off, imagine stuff and write down the pictures or is it just me? When I worked I 'wrote' most of my stuff in the car using a dictaphone! And yeh, it is true that when you get something right it's like flying. I've finished writing my first novel recently and I look at it now and can't quite belive I wrote it. So I guess it's when I read something I've written and think, hang on, did I write that? Only, it's quite good... That's when I get a kick.

Cheers

MTM

bthrowsnaill · 10-05-2010, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M T McGuire

OK, strike my rather glib (but true) reply earlier. I had to comment again because Cars does it for me too (not forgetting Our Friends Electric). Again and again it's music that inspires me. Does anyone else find that?

Do you listen, drift off, imagine stuff and write down the pictures or is it just me? When I worked I 'wrote' most of my stuff in the car using a dictaphone! And yeh, it is true that when you get something right it's like flying. I've finished writing my first novel recently and I look at it now and can't quite belive I wrote it. So I guess it's when I read something I've written and think, hang on, did I write that? Only, it's quite good... That's when I get a kick.

Cheers

MTM

Music is typically my muse. And I do think that my best ideas and concepts have come when I've been driving. Nice avatar btw.

Valmore Daniels · 10-05-2010, 07:26 PM

Writing transcends reality.

10-03-2010, 02:28 PM	#1
J.H. Farr Member Posts: 15 Karma: 110 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Taos, New Mexico, U.S.A. Device: iPad	Why do you write? People often ask me this, so I've posted the following blurb at http://www.farrfeed.com: Why I Do This: "When I'm able to write like that, I feel ecstasy and unity with all Creation. It's like an athlete performing an 'impossible' feat with seeming effortlessness and grace. I live for that... When I'm in that state, I don't care about money or sex or food. I don't care about who I am or what I am. I don't care if I'm in the front of the line or at the very end. I don't even care if I'm alive or dead, because it seems I'm in the same place, either way." It's all about being "in the zone," in other words, and to experience that, I'd do this whether I got paid or not. Your thoughts? John Hamilton Farr Author Buy TAOS SOUL at Amazon Kindle

10-04-2010, 02:13 AM	#6
J.H. Farr Member Posts: 15 Karma: 110 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Taos, New Mexico, U.S.A. Device: iPad	I was thinking about this earlier tonight and remembered something important: even when I was a little boy, riding in the back seat of the family car, there were narratives rolling along in my head. Descriptions of where we were going, what I was seeing. In that sense, I've been "writing" almost since forever. Last edited by J.H. Farr; 10-04-2010 at 02:19 AM.

10-05-2010, 10:47 AM	#8
J.H. Farr Member Posts: 15 Karma: 110 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Taos, New Mexico, U.S.A. Device: iPad	Hey Matthew! Great blog you have, I just bookmarked it. And BTW, Mike Cane (@mikecane on Twitter) describes a writer thusly: "a person who must write, who is unsuited to everything else except writing" Works for me... John Hamilton Farr http://www.farrfeed.com/ Last edited by J.H. Farr; 10-05-2010 at 11:58 AM.

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10-03-2010, 04:40 PM	#2
neilmarr neilmarr Posts: 7,216 Karma: 6000059 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Monaco-Menton, France Device: sony	Your words sing to me, JH. Thanks for the melody. N

10-03-2010, 05:12 PM	#3
J.H. Farr Member Posts: 15 Karma: 110 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Taos, New Mexico, U.S.A. Device: iPad	Thank you, sir. I'll try to deliver more of the same!

10-03-2010, 05:24 PM	#4
pigeonweather Enthusiast Posts: 37 Karma: 309654 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: California Device: Droid	nicely put. i like to live with my story, feed it, dream about it, talk it over with my child, watch it grow, follow it along and ultimately set it free, like placing a paper boat in a stream and waving goodbye. That journey is my reward. It can be kind of addicting, though. As soon as I finish one, I experience a bit of "post-write-um" depression, and start scanning my brain for another story to tell.

10-03-2010, 05:29 PM	#5
James_Wilde Guru Posts: 802 Karma: 4727110 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Sweden Device: Iriver Story	Because I have to. Writing should carry a government health warning.

10-05-2010, 10:25 AM	#7
matthewcplourde Enthusiast Posts: 32 Karma: 500532 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: iPad	haha - I feel the same as James Wilde...

10-05-2010, 12:03 PM	#9
neilmarr neilmarr Posts: 7,216 Karma: 6000059 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Monaco-Menton, France Device: sony	*there were narratives rolling along in my head. Descriptions of where we were going, what I was seeing* Me too, John. I guess the novel builder is born when the kid asks himself: "But what if ...?" Slainte ba. Neil

10-05-2010, 12:16 PM	#10
durkinrobinson Lovechild Posts: 90 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Tampa Bay Device: Kindle	I write to make sense of the world. The older I get, the less sense there is to make, so the possibilities are endless.

10-05-2010, 05:13 PM	#12
bthrowsnaill Dreamer Posts: 112 Karma: 501282 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Philadelphia, PA Device: kindle	For me the ecstatic moment is the moment of creation when I imagine a new scene and it just feels right. I usually get fragments (sequences of words) of dialogue or description in these moments. I'm usually listening to music and it is a real high. Interestingly, the writing is not always such an intense high for me - especially if I'm fleshing out notes from one of these creative moments. Sometimes the creation and the writing can happen at the same time. But more often than not I'm in the car during these creative moments, so the writing comes afterwards. Had one of these moments this morning. Driving too fast in the rain while listening to Gary Numan's "Cars". The synth line in that song always enraptures me.

10-05-2010, 07:26 PM	#15
Valmore Daniels Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,592 Karma: 2822668 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Kindle	Writing transcends reality.

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