I would not consider myself to be much of a writer. In fact, I’ve never been much of a writer. So when someone asks me why I write, it’s hard for me to explain the why without going through a convoluted story. But that doesn’t answer the question. So, let me explain.
The Writing
When I was a kid all the way through college, I hated writing. I remember one day I did an English course in college and went on a diatribe about why Engineers do not have to be good writers in response to something my professor said (sorry Dr. Davis)! Philosophically, writing was foreign to me and the concept of composing content in any part of my life seemed like something that would die once I graduated.
Spoiler alert! It didn’t. Not only did I have to write in my job as an engineer, but I quickly realized how much my words meant. There were times I needed to be precise but didn’t have a word that fully conveyed my point. Sometimes I needed to vague but it was really hard to understand. My writing was sanitized a lot in the early years of my burgeoning engineering career. I was frustrated with this one aspect that I could not get over. Even today, my writing isn’t as good as I would like for it to be. Not certain if that is a relic of my inattentiveness in school or my impatience with taking the appropriate amount of time to actually convey my point. Regardless, I struggle to this day with writing well.
The Mind
With that said, my mind is different. I’ve always had a bit of imagination. I used to love to hear stories and watch movies. Once I actually got into reading, that opened up something completely new for me. The first book I get into for real was Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. It was during my sophomore year of high school. I had to write a paper on it. I ended up enjoying it so much that my writing actually reflected my interest and I got a good grade on the report. I think I wrote about the back and forth between Heathcliff and Catherine, which we now understand to be a toxic relationship.
But my ultimate reasoning for writing was inspire by a book called Nexus Point by Jaleta Clegg. Before you run out and go buy her novel (I do recommend as I believe it’s worth a read, as well as the rest of her space opera series), please know that it won’t likely win any Pulitzer Prizes. But then again, neither will mine. I’ve never met Jaleta but her book did inspire me.
Now you may be wondering how did this book inspire me to become a writer. Well the answer goes back to when I was a kid. I used to think up these elaborate stories and play out entire plot lines in my head. One particular one that stuck with me over the years was this idea of a story where this Space Pirate named Case would travel around the universe on random missions. Case was at the center of a conspiracy and tried his best to save the universe as we know it.
Jaleta’s story Nexus Point, is a space opera about a space pirate named Dace. She is Captain Kirkish in her handling of situations and overall, I found the story compelling. She even had a love interest named Tayvis, However, as I read the book I couldn’t help but feel like I should’ve written this book. And just to confirm it all, my best friend from college is named Martavis.
I write because my ideas are a gift.
We’re Connected
Now, this may sound silly, but I believe in the concept of the zeitgeist. Specifically, that multiple people are given similar ideas in a generation and eventually one person steps up and presents the idea. You know what I mean?
Elon Musk wasn’t the first person to think of electric cars. In fact, he did not start Tesla Motors. But Elon took a great idea and changed the world with it with his determination and drive. I know it’s not exactly the same, but I sensed in the moments that I was reading Nexus Point that God was telling me, “Next time I give you gift, use it.” It was so real, the day after I read Nexus Point, I started writing all my ideas in my mind. I will write until the day I leave this Earth. My writings may not change the world, but I will write nonetheless.
In Closing
The main idea here is to explain why I write. Simply put, I write because my ideas are a gift. I want to share my ideas, dreams, visions, or whatever even if only one person reads it. I have so many stories in my head and I hope you will read them all! In the meantime, please check out my debut novel, The Awakening. I really think you will love it!
