10 Reason Not to Write and 10 Reasons to Write

Reason Not to Write
1. The sun is shining and I need the extra vitamin D.

2. There’s 8 inches of snow in the driveway and, if I don’t clear it away, robbers will think the house is abandoned.

3. I just noticed a layer of dust around my computer and under the wires leading to and from it.

4. There’s a nest of birds outside the window and the baby birds are learning to fly.

5. I can hear the weeds growing in the vegetable patch.

6. My critique group doesn’t like my protagonist and I’ve dug deeper into her motives than a psychiatrist who gets paid up front for digging.

7. My mother wants me to socialize more and learn to play card games.

8. It’s my turn to borrow the latest thriller by X and I have to return it fast for the next person in line or I’ll lose my library privileges.


9. I’m too tired after work and my mind is on pause.

10. I’m too tired at the weekend because the kids aren’t in school and my mind is hiding.

Reasons to Write

1. Some of the coolest people I know are writers. They’re sociable, kind, and generous.

2. If the computer is on the blink, I can use pen and pad and see how the different medium affects the creation of the story.

3. I love seeing my words in print, and why shouldn’t that happen for me with a longer work?

4. I have so many characters with giant internal problems that can only be fixed through story challenges.

5. Right now, this character I know has to come to terms with her pathetic excuse for a mother or the character will never let herself fall in love or consider having kids.

6. There’s too much violence going on and it has to be controlled in a murder mystery.

7. Lawyers have told me not to expect justice. Someone has to explore the concept of justice and wonder why so many don’t get it.

8. Nothing (well, almost nothing) gives me more pleasure than when, twenty minutes after I start writing, I’m really in contact with my characters and what they’re doing.

9. If I start a story and it keeps building, I can’t leave everyone in limbo. Both life and fiction have an end. (Did anyone understand the meaning of the TV show LOST? They’re all dead and in some kind of purgatory—was that it? It should have been a short story).

10. Giving readers a story and characters they enjoy is a goal worth meeting.

11. We’re into the reruns season on TV.

So, I’ll continue writing aware there’ll be days when I’d rather sit on the porch and chat, preferably with someone else.

Pauline