#6 in a series of 6
It’s easy to lose track of why you wanted to be a writer in the first place. If you have vague dreams of fame or fortune, those won’t keep you going, especially when they don’t materialize quickly.
[image: writing is the tool I use to understand what's important in my life” width=”200″ height=”324″ class=”alignright size-full wp-image-2531]While we’d all love to be rich and famous, I don’t think that’s why you write. It’s not why I write.
I write because I love the feel of words. I write because I have feelings which are clarified only when I find words to put them in. I have ideas which might benefit others. I have questions.
I believe writing takes the vague, wandering abstracts out of my head and makes them clear, understandable things I can look at and play with. I believe it helps me decide whether they should remain part of my life or be forgotten in the drawer.
Language purists like to correct others’ minor mistakes. Their motive is to make themselves feel smarter by making you feel dumb. I know this because I used to be one of them. When I changed my metric from “smart” to “generous” this approach lost its appeal.