Why We Write

First, I want to start by welcoming everyone to our blog. It’s a pleasure and a thrill to be writing on the Internet. We as writers are continually trying to improve our writing and what better way then sharing what we’ve learned with one another.

Last summer I had the privilege to attend a fantastic writer’s conference. Since the conference was quite a distance away, I found a carpool with other writers that I had not known before the event. Each night on the way home, we would compare notes and share what each of us had learned in the different breakout sessions.

One night we somehow got on the topic of why we became writers, why we felt the need to share our work with others, and why we don’t keep our writings and rants to ourselves. We finally agreed that once a piece of work is slaved over and completed, a desire builds within us that makes us want to share our creation with the world.

But writing is not an easy task! Tonight for example, I’ve spent a good part of my night trying to write the perfect query letter for a children’s picture book I have finished. To be honest with you, the query is not that perfect. Most of you know that the query letter may be the only thing the agent looks at. If it is written with misspellings - which you will learn I do quit often (oops, I mean quite - just keep reading the blog and you’ll find out). If the letter is not formatted the way the agent wants, it may be looked over completely. And that’s just the query letter! Not to mention the rejection we get as writers after the query letters and manuscripts come back. I figure, once I hit the magic number of 100 rejection letters I may finally be taken seriously. If you have reached 100, I envy you!

But the truth is, we as writers love to write, love to be taken into a magic world of mystery, fantasy, sci-fi and yes, even non-fiction. There is a certain awe that comes with being a writer, for both writer and reader alike. I guess that is why we’ve decided to start this blog. We are sharing a piece of us with each other. Wow, I hope you’ve brought your dictionary and grammar book, ‘cause I’m gonna need them!

Keep on writing!
Scarlet