#why we write

Because something happened, and silence makes it louder.

Because if you don’t put it down, it sits in you wrong.

Not to be clever.

Right before the 2020 election, old fanfic friends from my days in the Master and Apprentice Star Wars listserv found me and saved me.

They dragged me back into fandom, introduced me to Discord, and got me writing again. I updated a story I hadn't touched in 5 years. I made new friends online and in RL. I got some great fiction and fic recs from those friends and discovered a subgenre called Hopepunk—low stakes fiction with very little if any violence and fear and with happy endings. (Becky Chambers writes a lot of what I read, and Amy Crook has also become a favorite.)

One morning, I had one of those really vivid, realistic, linear plot dreams that literally dragged me out of bed to the keyboard. It was a meet-cute modern au of The Phantom Menace's characters, set in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I cranked out about 2000 words the first day. Then another 2000. Then another 2000. Then another 2000. And so on every damn day for the next four years until I had four novels, about 668k words, several timestamps written by three other collaborators who've come on board, some beautiful art I've been allowed to use, and now a fifth book in the works.

This is the Yooperverse.

It's not just The Fic That Saved Me, it's the place where I'm writing a vision of what the world could be like into being. A place where people with fucking obscene amounts of money don't spend it on themselves, or hoard it, or exploit other people to get more, but use it to help other people. It's a place where people who are bigoted dicks either get their comeuppance and crawl back under their rocks, or learn better and do better. It's a place where abused kids get rescued, everybody gets therapy and healthcare and is paid a living wage, people learn to value themselves and each other, and protect each other and defend each other. It's kinky and queer (although I'm neither) and above all, if not entirely safe to be both, I'm trying to write both things as just being another setting on the dryer. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It's not a utopia, by any means, because there are still assholes and the government is still ... the government, and capitalism is still a thing. There's some danger, especially in the first book, and there are accidents and illnesses and the vagaries of life. In the middle of the series, I had spinal surgery and was out of commission for a few months and that made me start thinking more about my main character dealing with aging and the limitations thereof. There's a LOT of mental health issues and the working through thereof, and a lot of ongoing process. Nobody's perfect. The world outside is still pretty much what it is. But in the little corners where my characters dwell, life is pretty dang good, sometimes great.

It's a vision of a life we all deserve. It's the thing I loved about Star Trek's universe, where people's basic needs are cared for and the obstacles to them developing their best selves removed. It's what I've loved about science fiction in general, especially Ursula LeGuin's: that opportunity to explore possibilities that are better than the present. It's modeled on the MacArthur Genius grants, but you don't have to prove your worthiness first. My main character invests in people's potential, young or old, with scholarships and grants and a steadying hand. His partner builds low or no-cost housing for people in need. There's an informal network of queer and straight kid rescuing going on under the noses of unfriendly governments and failed social service safety nets. The main characters build refuges, literal and emotional. They love each other fiercely and respectfully.

Right now, we're living in a country that is almost the antithesis of these ideas, for far too many of us. People are being manipulated by their fears, which are stoked by unscrupulous, lying shitbag politicians whose all too real evil would never make it past the pitch if you were going to try to sell it as a TV show or movie. They're consciously turning us on each other with lies about our common humanity, about the state of our country, about who and what's responsible for many of its faults, sewing suspicion and hate. And though the Yooperverse started as my personal comfort fic, I'm trying in my very small way to counteract what's happening in the world right now.

I've always believed in the power of story to change people's minds and lives, and I've experienced it myself. When I talk about story, I don't just mean fiction, though. I mean the narratives we tell ourselves and others about our own lives as a whole and day by day or moment by moment. I mean the stories we tell about each other when we're together, at the bar, at wakes, at a party. I mean the stories we invest in as fans in whatever kind of media we consume. I mean the stories we spin for ourselves and others to explain what the everloving fuck is wrong with the world.

Stories aren't separate from the world, they are the world. They tell it into being. They give it shape and purpose and meaning and a sense of possibility. Whatever stories we tell ourselves or each other about how things should be or how we should act as human beings (also called our "beliefs" or "morals" or "ethics"), they shape us, and we shape society. We are society, both together and as individuals. One person with a big voice and a story can tip a mass of people into either violence or solidarity.

Are you writing this month, Wrimo? Check out our “I wrote a novel… now what?” resources over on the NaNoWriMo website for tips on choosing your next writing adventure: whether that’s finishing a story you’ve been working on for a while, editing and revising, pursuing publishing... or something completely different! For some extra inspiration, author Sarah Gailey’s Pep Talk from this past November reminds you to find joy in the reasons you write. Read the full Pep Talk here!

As writers, we often focus mainly on the stories we want to create instead of fully understanding the broader benefits of writing. Let's delve into why writing is not just for entertainment but also for personal growth.

Writing for Learning

Writing is essential for learning and retaining information. The more you write, the better you will recall important details that are crucial for your writing and personal life. Our memory can often be our worst enemy when we are easily distracted, but writing helps fill in the gaps and keeps us on track.

Writing for Clarity

Writing helps us keep our thoughts and memories organized. Journaling, for instance, keeps us present and focused on what happened during our day. This practice can help us stay motivated and achieve our writing or learning goals.

Writing for Mental Health

Writing is a safe space to express your feelings and thoughts, helping you sort through emotions without fear of judgment. This process can be incredibly beneficial for recognizing and managing your thoughts and emotions.

Writing to Improve Communication Skills

Writing enhances your communication skills, which are crucial for both personal and professional success. It helps you convey your message clearly and engagingly, which is vital regardless of what you choose to write.

Why This Matters to Your Writing Career

You might wonder why these benefits are relevant to your writing career. The answer is simple: understanding and controlling your thoughts and emotions constructively allows you to create characters that are realistic, authentic, and believable. Good communication skills ensure your message is clear and engaging.

Conclusion

I think the actual appeal of the word "consume" is that it is a single verb for having a story told to you in any media form. I "read" Dracula Daily, I "watch" Slings & Arrows, I "listen to" WOE.BEGONE, I "play" Myst, and they're all the same activity, not in every sense but in some senses [pun not intended].

Over on Reddit - a topic was subbed with the premise that "Nobody writes purely for themselves. If they did, they'd be perfectly happy keeping the story in their head without writing it down."

Which is utter malarkey. Yes, I pulled out the M-word.

Thinking stories, talking stories, writing stories, publishing stories are all storytelling. These are observational or imaginary constructs.

Let me say again: They are ALL storytelling. We get hung up on the 'writing' part as a modern global culture, especially in Western cultures or cultures influenced by Western (Colonial) perspective. Writing is action that can be seen (or felt in the form of Braille). It is also an occupation - and we, in the predominant Western idiom are obsessed with Occupation (work). It is the focus on written published work that poo-pooed the Oral Traditions of First Nation/Indigenous peoples cultures causing them/us to lose histories that can not now ever be recovered.

Storytelling has a much longer oral tradition than writing. That tradition still exists and is valid. Often - in Storytelling - the subjects were - what we would consider - RPF (real person fics) because common heroes were used as a focus of the story. Bat Masterson was a prime example. Although there were many pulp stories written - there were far more told over and open fire by men and women in far flung communities where storytelling was the 'streaming' of the day. Masterson was the hero of the day and any story was valid as long as he was included.

Additional absurdity to the statement "nobody writes purely for themselves'" is the dismissal of people who write jurnals, diaries, and daily logs. What happens after their death with such works is separate. When they wrote, they did it for themselves. Emily Dickenson wrote some 1800+ poems. All but 10 of them she kept to herself in her lifetime. it wasn't until after she died that a family member went WTF! and published the rest. She wrote for.her.self.

Storytelling. We mentally engage in STORYTELLING - because it serves us: our minds, our emotions, our lives. It serves us. Writing for ourselves has the same effect... except we can return to a story that we have transcribed and recreate it exactly as it came from us like that grade school picture of us when we were 10, it is a snap shot in time. Our stories are a picture of who we were once. Whether is serves others either through telling them orally or publishing is another matter.