You Want To Write A Book: Why?

When I say “I’m a writer”, the most common responses are:

• “I’ve always wanted to write a book.”
• “You should write my autobiography.”
• “I wrote a short story when I was a kid. I wish I had stuck with it.”
  

…or some variation of this response.

It used to offend me, slightly. Why didn’t people ask about my books?

I’ve softened. I now see it as evidence of a universal human experience.

Everyone has a story to tell, and they want it to be known. Everyone knows what a storyteller is; it’s an ancient calling, and that’s why it speaks to so many.

You want to write a book. Why?

People don’t usually examine their motivations to write. They assume everyone has the same reason, but that’s not true. Some people want the glory of a bestselling novel, and dream of prestigious engagements and a tour. Others want to get a certain experience out of them and onto the page… a kind of exorcism. Others love fantastic, sensual, action-packed stories. Some people have a moral lesson, something inside of them that is struggling to get out.

When it comes to writing a book, few people actually follow through. Time is always a factor, of course. But I think there are other reasons that people are hesitant, reasons that they don’t always want to say out loud.

There’s the fear that people you know will recognize themselves in your work…or make fun of you. There’s a fear of not being good enough, original enough. There’s the fear that you’ll attempt to write something great, and fail. Then you have to deal with the idea that maybe you’re not that good at something, that maybe writing is a universal desire, but not a universal skill.

That there’s a difference between the story in your head and the story on the page, and the differences between the two are…painful. There is a unique agony when something you create does not match what you wanted. Being a writer is facing this failure over and over. The ideal and the real can get closer and closer as you get better and better.

Maybe someday they match entirely. I don’t know yet. Give me another 20 years of writing, and maybe I will have an answer.

You want to write a book: Why? Does it sound glamorous, like a Carrie Bradshaw fantasy? Does it sound reputable? Do you want the esteem of speaking in a large hall with marble and a strong echo? Do you want to have the support of everyday people, the recognition of creating a relatable classic? Or do you want to be known for creating something addictive, something adventurous, like a saga? Maybe instead you want to reassure and comfort people who have experienced a specific type of pain…to bond with people over topics others would rather avoid.

When I say that I’m a writer and people tell me that they want to be a writer, too, it’s not some kind of disrespect to my craft. I used to think it was. But it just means everyone wants to write a book because everyone appreciates and needs stories. We all love art. We all do need it.

People sometimes say no one reads anymore. I disagree; I feel like people read more than ever, just using different mediums. Stories have different lengths. Different formats.

If I photograph a large paragraph and stick it on TikTok, no one will read it. If I break that same paragraph up into five slides and put a photo of a flower behind the text, it’ll garner views. It’s not that no one reads; it’s that the storyteller has to find the right way to tell the story.

(Oh yeah, that’s another part of it, too.)

But everyone needs stories, and everyone wants to be heard.

You want to write a book. Why not?