It’s a question that has been asked many times, yet it continues to persist and it becomes hypothetical because writers know why they write. For the benefit of those who do not understand the nature of the writing vocation, I am throwing in my ten cents.

We write for a number of reasons. Primarily, it is to make a living out of the words we spin into the paper. Writing is a cerebral activity, and it is not easy to think. Therefore, we expect a reward or compensation for our skill with words. Moreover, writing requires time and effort, even among the most prolific. Getting paid for writing is what separates the professional from the amateur, as the latter is happy and content in the intrinsic reward of exposure for their self-expression. For the working writer, however, personal fulfillment and a check often go side by side.

Many writers carry a sense of purpose. It is this purpose that pushes them to choose writing as a vocation, no matter the odds. We’ve heard stories of impoverished poets and playwrights, yet they stick to their craft. Some writers consider themselves as chroniclers of behaviors and events. The need to capture situations in an unadulterated form or adapted through the guise of fiction is a self need that hinges on the adage that the pen is mightier than the sword. Writers in their own way are catalysts of social change. The need to create awareness of issues that might compel an audience to take action or even pause to think for a moment are reasons for writing. Writing as a craft is an integral part of personal freedom.

Going back to history, no civilization existed without storytelling. Since time immemorial, man has found answers to inexplicable enigmas by weaving tales. Tribal elders reinforced their authority by gathering their flock around the fireplace to tell them stories. Even before we learned to use written words as arbitrary symbols, early men told stories through sequential art. One such example is the Paleolithic cave paintings in Lascaux, France. Our contemporary men of letters enjoy the convenience of technology, and doubling, even tripling their outputs. In a time when self-publishing has come of age, the productive output of writers has increased.  

Writers don’t just sit down to write. They need to have a material and a sense of purpose to justify their writing, in the same manner that a painter needs to visualize or study his subject. Writers sometimes make sacrifices in artistic freedom when they operate under the demands of guidelines and commercialism. 

Whatever type of writer we choose to be, the world will always have a need for someone with the gift of imagination interpreted through written words. Many writers rarely have an easy life, and perhaps only one out of a thousand earn “literary sensation” status. Nonetheless, we will keep writing. Writers write because they have talent. They write because they have something to impart. They are willing to beat the odds because they know that talent will always find a home.