Why Do You Write?

Chuck Wendig asks this over at Terrible Minds. It’s his non-fiction flash-fiction challenge. I enjoy that idea, so I thought I’d try to tackle the subject.

The simple answer is I write because I enjoy it. And because I need to write.

I’ve always enjoyed writing. I’ve always needed to write. But I haven’t always done it.

Funny, isn’t it?

I remember hauling a journal around most of my life, and writing in it constantly. I remember wanting to be a lot of things when I grew up, but somehow writing was always involved. I thought I was going to major in English in college (because I didn’t know creative writing degrees were a thing you could get), until suddenly a fantastic teacher changed my life and I ended up in biology.… Continue reading →

The Obligations Surrounding “Scientist.”

It took sitting down to a hard cider tasting to help me figure out some of the answers to Dr. Janet Stemwedel’s questions (reproduced below) from over a week ago. I’d been contemplating it for awhile, had written some serious notes on the subject, but I hadn’t gotten it figured out completely. As I finished my night of cider and camaraderie, I had a much clearer picture.

For me, from the beginning, it all came down to communication. I suspect part of this is that I love to talk. I am not only a complete chatterbox most of the time in person, I keep a blog and many of the posts are… not short. On top of that, I love listening and reading. Stories are fascinating, whether I’m telling them or hearing them.… Continue reading →