Every now and then, I like to ask my fellow writing colleagues on this website or in my emails this question, because it really does vary from person to person, from age to age, and from culture to culture. And sometimes, depending what era of time we happen to be living in can make a huge difference. Emails and online forums have given way to text messages and social media, hot encounters of fictional sex and shallow beauty has given way to extended and meaningful storytelling and depth of character. It happens. Sometimes things speed forward towards the horizon, and sometimes the pendulum swings back the other to return to the days of old. So how new ambitious writers look at creating a story of their very own, and how older more experienced writers look at the same process may be very different right now. So it keeps me curious, you know?

The question is...why do we write?

I understand that the complexity and nuance of this question takes a lot of thought and time to answer...but when it comes to my own personal reasons for writing stories like the ones I’ve posted online, I think that having everyone here not on think about this question and contemplate your answers...I would love to see you guys write it out for the rest of us to see. Not just for me, not just for the rest of us, but for you as well.

Hopefully by the end of this article, you’ll understand why.

One of the things that I’ve really taken a lot of love and joy out of writing stories online and getting a chance to hear feedback and talk to the people who enjoy my stories and are wiling to open up a little bit about themselves in the process, is getting to hear about their lives and their feelings and some of the life stories that they have to tell me in return. I can’t even explain how much it helps to be given so much insight and knowledge into a world and a perception that they know much better than I ever could on my own. And I’m sure there have been parts of my life that I’ve added to my own stories that have done the same for a great deal of my own audience as well. But, above all else, I always found myself telling them, “Dude...you have a story to tell! Why not tell it?” And you know what? Many people just...don’t. Like, ever.

But why not? That baffles me to this day, even after all these years. They’ve convinced themselves that they can’t do it. They don’t have the talent, they don’t have the words, they don’t have the time...but...you JUST told me the story and sent it to me like five fucking MINUTES ago! If you take what you just wrote to me in an email, add some detail and dialogue, and give your characters a couple of names...you’ve got a solid already done right here and now. There it is. THAT’S your story! What are you doing? Why toss it aside and not share it?

I will honestly say that once I started writing stories of my own, I was immediately addicted to the idea of having a voice and being able to put it out there for other people to read and enjoy at will. The weird thing is...if you had asked me why I was willing to do that, back then...I don’t know if I would have been able to give you an answer. I just know that I was compelled to do more. As often as humanly possible. Once I found a way to touch that little spark of passion in my heart...there was nothing alive that could stop me. That’s all there was to it. I can’t even fathom how upset I’d be with myself if I had given up and let all of these wonderful stories die with me, never to have been read, appreciated, or absorbed, by anybody. I can honestly say that it would have been the biggest regret of my life. And yet...there’s still more to it than that. I know that now.

And if asked that same question today, I’d like to think that I had a decent answer to give.

I write to make sense of the world. I write to make sense of myself. This is more than my passion and my talent, but it’s my therapy. I use writing to translate my emotions and organize my thoughts in ways that I was never mature enough to do when I first started out. And that might be why I’ve changed so much since then. I mean, there’s a lot to be said for life experience and age and adversity that I’ve faced in that time...but emotionally, I doubt that I would even recognize the man I used to be before ‘Comicality’. And figuring out my very reason for writing and trying to use it to help guide me towards a purpose for all of this weirdness...has truly been a cathartic experience for me. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. And when I look back at my own stories, it’s like I can feel my heart, mind, and soul, sort of working together in tandem for the first time to actually figure things out.

I know that may sound weird to a lot of you guys right now, but hang in there with me for a few minutes.

During those email conversations with other members of the Shack, friends, family members, co-workers, whoever...I became really aware of how vague and ominous most people are when it comes to their own emotions. Now, that may be, in part to the fact that they were holding something back from me personally...and I get that. Nothing wrong with it. But ask yourself, how many have you known someone close to you who was in a really bad mood? Or just frustrated and angry? Or down in the dumps and depressed? And you ask them what’s wrong...but it’s like, “I don’t know. I’m just not myself today.” Or, “I’m just sad.” Yeah, but why? I’m definitely not a therapist, and far from being a mind reader...but I can’t help but to wonder what triggered that particular feeling on that particular day. It doesn’t have to be anything major. It could be a nasty comment, it could be a bad review on something you wrote, it could be the memory of a particular heartbreak from the past...hell, it could just be boredom, to be honest. No need to feel bad about it, or look at your current state of mind as being something petty, paranoid, or insecure. You feel how you feel. Period. That’s all there is to it. All of this is ok, so don’t try to ru and hide from it. It’s a natural part of life. For you, for me, for all of us.

How does this psycho-babble fit into one of Comicality’s writing tips? Hehehe, don’t worry! I’m getting to that right now!

The thing about writing from the heart and really channeling your emotions into your stories, your characters, your dialogue, and every word that you type out on your screen...it all comes from a place where your deepest emotions lie, if you’re willing to dig deeply enough to find the treasures that already exist within you. Not just to entertain others, but to find yourselves. Not to find the right answers...but to find the right questions. There is SUCH a difference between the two extremes.

Often, when I’m writing certain scenes...I’m working things out in my own head. You guys just get the luxury of being able to read those struggling thoughts without having to deal with the horror of having them bang around in your heads day and night the way I do. Hehehe! But my constant need and craving for writing stories comes from my desperate need to make sense of things. To find answers, or at least a somewhat decent explanation that gives me hope for maybe finding answers some time in the future. If you can look at your own work, past and present, and recognize your own stream of consciousness being spoken through the words you put down on the page...it suddenly becomes one of the most addictive practices that you’ll ever know.

Going back to “I’m sad” or “I’m in a bad mood”...and can’t explain why? When I start writing my stories, especially during certain scenes...you’re actually reading and bearing witness to my ongoing search for ‘why’ in the text. Making it fiction allows me to detach from it slightly to speak freely, sure...but more than anything, my stories are my way of working through my anger, working through my fear, working through my sadness, working through my sexual frustration (Those are the fun ones! Hehehe!)...but I get to build a narrative that’s specific, logical, and worded in a way that not only will I be able to understand it, but so will my audience. They’ll be able to tune in to my particular frequency and see it the way I see it. Feel it the way I feel it.

Writing your innermost thoughts and feelings down in this way forces you to recognize what’s going on in your own head and in your heart. And the more that you do it, the better you get at it. There’s a creative ‘shift’ that happens over time, and it works its way into your daily discipline as writing your thoughts out becomes your main form of expression. What are you thinking about? What are you feeling? Who’s involved? It’s easy to just let a bunch of worries or problems sort of stay vague and undefined where they just exist as this dull ache in the back of your mind where you can bury it and figure that you’ll just deal with it later on when you have the time or the energy to do so...but writing doesn’t allow you to do that. Not if you’re being honest with your words. Sometimes you have to dig into the hurt and see what you find there. Why are you sad? Find an answer. And if you don’t have one, just start writing about the ache in your heart...and keep writing about every aspect of your current situation and how it makes you feel until you find an answer. Even if it’s only a temporary one. To me, personally...seeing this in an author’s work is one of the most exciting and satisfying parts of anything they could ever possibly write.

I realize that I’ve been told that I can be a bit ‘wordy’ at times with my own work, and I have tried to find a better balance where I’m not just mauling my readers with introspection and self awareness all the time...but during those times when I do feel like digging deep and organizing my thoughts and emotions in a way that I think would truly reflect the feelings of my main characters and would benefit the story as a whole...I don’t hold back. Not at all.

That might be why sometimes someone will quote a story or tell me what I said in something I wrote a long time ago...I’ll be like, “Really? I wrote that?” LOL! Because I don’t remember at all. It wasn’t a part of the master plan, it was probably just me working through stuff in my own head, and I was probably finding those same answers the same time that you were. It’s just a relieving part of my writing process. And if you’re one of those writers who finds themselves searching for ways to approach the rest of the world with a perspective and understanding that can, hopefully, be translated into the written word...then don’t ever sacrifice that. Not ever. K?

I can honestly say that writing these stories online have helped me to find sooooo much more of myself than I ever could have found on my own. Parts of myself that I wouldn’t have even found the guts to explore if they hadn’t been mixed with the freedom of fiction and a fanbase that was willing to support and cheer me own every step of the way. So use your writing to entertain YOU too! Reap the rewards of pouring so much of your heart into something that’s so difficult for so many other people to even attempt, much less accomplish. Readers share your passions, your pains, and your questions too. And if you keep digging...you may find that you have just as much ability to help them out as you are to help yourselves.

Anyway...that’s my big spiritual guru moment for the day! Hehehe! Take it to heart, or take it with a grain of salt. That’s up to you. But this is a MAJOR part of why I do what I do online! Why do you do it? Let us know some time! I’d love to hear it.

Take care! Keep writing! And stay beautiful! MWAH!