What Makes Writing So Much Fun

Writing is an inherently solitary activity. It can’t be done well while socializing at parties or the pub, nor while enjoying one’s favorite sporting activity. It requires the author to record his dreams, to juggle pacing and plot, and to do it all with a minimum of distraction. The fabled “writer’s cave” is not a myth.

So what makes it fun for me? Two things, really:

Discovering where the story goes

I don’t outline my entire work before I write it, and how each novel ends is often as much a surprise to me as it is to you. Turning (or writing) the next page is always interesting.

Seeing the reactions of my readers

Nothing encourages me to write more than listening to someone who’s enjoyed reading what I’ve already written.

In many ways writing isn’t that different from the theater, other than the feedback loop is longer. At the end of a show, when costumed performers mingle with the audience for photographs and compliments, it’s easy to tell that what they’ve done was appreciated. They know when they’ve made their audience happy.

That same kind of enthusiasm keeps me going. I love seeing the excitement in a reader’s eyes when they’re telling me about their favorite scene, or they send me pictures of the copy they just got in the mail.

So keep reading! What comes next is going to be so interesting!