Comments on Nathan Bransford, Author: What Keeps You Writing?

I write because I love it! Nothing else can move ...

2010-10-26T19:43:12.570-07:00

I write because I love it! Nothing else can move me to the highest realm of existence and relax my brain like writing. It is my way of traveling to another plane and having true freedom, no limits. I type fast and my hubby says, "when the keys are smoking I leave her alone"
Very wise man!

Because it's fun. I like the writing part, but...

2010-02-26T08:46:44.133-08:00

Because it's fun. I like the writing part, but I LOVE the revision part. Cutting, adding, moving paragraphs and pages around until they fit right... it's great entertainment.

I can easily kill a boring day at work by thinking about the revisions I'll do when I get home.

I keep going because I am so passionate about it a...

2010-02-24T22:15:55.731-08:00

I keep going because I am so passionate about it and I don't believe in giving up. The other night, in my journal, I sat and wrote my own inspirational quote that I thought I should share: "Giving up is not forfeiting the opportunity to see the outcome of your perseverance. Giving up is the outcome-it just so happens to be a negative one."

very simple: i am not sure myself where exactly t...

2010-02-23T09:50:12.888-08:00

very simple: i am not sure myself where exactly the story is going, so i like being along for the ride.

Though the actual process of writing is secluded, ...

2010-02-21T12:59:26.959-08:00

Though the actual process of writing is secluded, when writers share their thoughts, feelings, and adventures with readers it is the ultimate connection between two human beings. That's why I write - to make that connection with another human being.

Child, when you're passionate about your topic...

2010-02-21T09:50:05.362-08:00

Child, when you're passionate about your topic and your craft--that alone keeps me writing...it just comes out--like a Tiger Woods mistress.

For my first book, it was important to have someon...

2010-02-21T00:30:11.679-08:00

For my first book, it was important to have someone reading the chapters as I came out with them, cheering me on. It got me through it when I might have given up otherwise. Now that the book is done, I write and rewrite to perfect my characters and the world they're in. And I write because I believe in their story and in myself. Writing is also my favorite form of escapism- next to reading ofcourse. Nothing's better than wading in a world you created and having the power to do whatever you want. Kinda like playing god:)

It's just who I am.

2010-02-20T15:21:50.589-08:00

It's just who I am.

What keeps me writing? I've answered this ques...

2010-02-20T09:03:54.738-08:00

What keeps me writing? I've answered this question before, so I guess it wouldn't hurt to answer it again. I have to write. It's not like I can choose to do it or not do it. I've been writing since early childhood and completed my first novella at age 12 (which was more than terrible, but that's not the point). My writing got worse as I got into the teens, angst-filled and dark and terrible, but I couldn't stop myself. Yes, my characters talk to me in my head, yes I have one-sided, out-loud conversations with them, and yes they bug me until I finish their story. But they aren't what keeps me writing. It's a weird kind of need that I can't explain. More involuntary than anything. I have to. It's part of who I am.

My characters won't leave me alone. If they&#...

2010-02-20T08:10:20.144-08:00

My characters won't leave me alone. If they're stuck in a forest waiting for me to get them out, I feel guilty...

One thing that keeps me pounding away on the keybo...

2010-02-19T16:29:43.167-08:00

One thing that keeps me pounding away on the keyboard is that I want to find out what happens next in the story. I had no idea what happened between the first and last chapters of Ten Ring when I got serious about completing the book.

- Joseph L Cooke

There are a lot of things that keep me going but I...

2010-02-19T14:36:39.620-08:00

There are a lot of things that keep me going but I guess I would have to say the three most important are (1) my kids (to show them the importance of finishing something you start), (2) I believe with my heart and soul I have a great novel and (3) I want to see my words in print. The passion I feel, the warmth that tugs at my soul when I think about others reading and enjoying my words, is overwhelming. I simply can't let the dream go. Not now.

Sheer bloody-minded stubbornness.

2010-02-19T14:18:51.843-08:00

Sheer bloody-minded stubbornness.

With an adoring (and needy!) husband, two young ch...

2010-02-19T02:23:43.798-08:00

With an adoring (and needy!) husband, two young children constantly demanding my time and attention (and enormous quantities of food lately!), and graduate school assignments calling my name on a daily basis, writing is my escape from the wonderful, crazy, overwhelming mess that is my reality! It gives me something meaningful to do that isn't for anyone else. I fall in love with my characters - my husband asked me if my "imaginary friends" were going to be included on our Christmas card this year. I LOVE to write, and I'm gratefuj that it never feels like a chore or a burden for me. Maybe because it isn't my career . . . YET!:)

Lack of adequate entertainment. I bore very easil...

2010-02-19T01:58:34.331-08:00

Lack of adequate entertainment. I bore very easily.

I write because I love the feeling of being able t...

2010-02-18T21:58:36.669-08:00

I write because I love the feeling of being able to create different characters and controlling what they do, just like The Sims 3 except in writing, there are no boundaries.

Writing is like acting except way better. An actress is allowed to play different people at a time but writing lets you be so many others at once. As a writer, I'm also the director that directs the characters, the producer that creates the stories, the architect that designs the sets and the actress who plays the characters.

I write sometimes because I wish this pretty story happened to me. Likewise, everyone's main character is usually influenced by themselves.

Writing takes you away from the harsh reality and it actually gives you the chance to express your thoughts and feelings on paper and flaunt the beauty with words and not appearance.

The voices, they keep telling me to write. LOL! ...

2010-02-18T21:00:13.600-08:00

The voices, they keep telling me to write. LOL!

Seriously, I am the only link to the real world for my characters. How can they continue to live and grow and hurt and dream if I do not write?

itchy fingers

2010-02-18T20:17:16.634-08:00

itchy fingers

There are people living in my head. Yes, that'...

2010-02-18T15:52:51.644-08:00

There are people living in my head. Yes, that's what keeps me writing, there are people living in my head and I want to get them out! Linda

I dig up some old quotes from writers I love who e...

2010-02-18T13:55:04.965-08:00

I dig up some old quotes from writers I love who experience the same thing. Dennis Lehane and Lee Child experience self-doubt just like the rest of us.

I'm with the countless others that say "t...

2010-02-18T13:00:04.806-08:00

I'm with the countless others that say "the story." For everything that implies, it's true. Can't sleep -- it runs through my head. Don't want to do anything else -- it's too fun to write. When the story doesn't do that, I let it go. :)

What keeps me writing? A book called The Seacoast ...

2010-02-18T12:54:34.482-08:00

What keeps me writing? A book called The Seacoast of Bohemia by Arona McHugh. It was published in 1965. I was 18 when the book came out. I still think of the characters, find myself wondering about them all these years later. I think ... if I can create something that marvelous ...
And I write.

I enjoy the puzzle of stringing together the right...

2010-02-18T12:42:00.631-08:00

I enjoy the puzzle of stringing together the right words required to bring to life the characters I am creating. I love writing dialogue and making complex, complicated scenes in which only half the characters understand what is happening, but the reader knows most of it, but not all.

I love when I am writing a scene, a character I had no idea was even in the scene, will arrive and steal the show and create more and more scenes that now have to be written.

I love re-reading my 35,000 work in progress and being upset at the end that there isn't any more to read until I write it.

When I write I'm following my dream. I won...

2010-02-18T12:08:24.354-08:00

When I write I'm following my dream. I won't give up on that.

I tend to fall in love with my imaginary character...

2010-02-18T12:04:58.101-08:00

I tend to fall in love with my imaginary characters and the stories they are trying to tell. I keep writing because I don't want to die with their stories still trapped inside my head. I want readers to fall in love with them just as I did!