Why do I write? Because I like to. When I don't write, I find myself going crazy with the possibilities in my head. I used to read to my brother and sister when I was little, and I wrote my first pathetic story when I was about 9 or 10. (Got teased to death by my siblings later when they found it, too. It scared me from showing my work to anyone for years.) We used to make up stories between us when we were on car trips, because it was a lot more fun than Twenty Questions. Much later, I discovered my sister also wrote -- she'd just been more clever about hiding her efforts than I was. We wrote our first story together when we were in our early 30s, and kept it up for years, but we only read the results to our kids. It wasn't until I discovered the Fanfic Archive in late 1999 that I actually contemplated letting anyone else see my work. My daughter bet me that I could write as well as the stories written there and challenged me to try. The rest is history.
If no one read a word of what I write, would I still write?
Yes, but it wouldn't be as much fun, anymore. I'm a storyteller from way back. I wrote stuff for years that (thankfully) no one else ever saw. I locked it up in a footlocker and kept the key on a ring where no snoopy siblings could ever get hold of it after the first embarrassing experience, but I didn't stop writing. I also burned a lot of my early stuff, because I never wanted anyone to ever find and read it. (Brr!) Now that I've gotten over my phobia of letting others see my work, however, I love to post something that entertains other people. If it doesn't, I'm really disappointed. If for some reason people didn't want to read anymore, I'd go back to writing just for myself when time permitted, but I wouldn't stop.
Nan
