I write because....

Prompt: Set your timer for 10 minutes and make a list; begin each line with the phrase "I write because..."

I write because it makes me feel better. Even though sometimes it's like tasting a bad-flavored medicine, somewhere inside I know I'll start feeling better if I just take it.

I write because I love playing with words. I used to sit out under the tree in my front yard as a child and read the dictionary. My dad still talks about it.

I write because it's something I do well. In the sea of my life where I have to do things I don't enjoy or I'm not that good at, I have this one thing that travels with me wherever I go that I know I can do with skill and competence. Even if that's only my opinion. :)

I write because I love to read. Whenever I read a book that I just fall into and get lost, I am driven to pick up a pen and take myself into my own stories where I can get lost in my own creating.

I write to get people out of my head. They sit there and dance and poke at me at the oddest times--when I should be concentrating on other things--and if I don't get them out I start talking to them and then people really think I'm crazy.

I write to get people in my head who are arguing to stop. This happens most often when I have a work in progress. My characters go on to write themselves in my head, and you know those juicy arguments always pop up when you wish you had waterproof paper and writing instruments. Has anyone created those yet? Maybe that's why there are soap crayons.

I write because these amazing ideas come into my head at night when I can't sleep and they just beg to never be forgotten. The only way for me to ensure that they don't get lost is to write them down.

I write because I have learned things that I want to share with other people. Homeschooling can be scary, but I've survived 15 years of it, and so maybe there's something I can say that will help someone in year five, when the second child is born and she just can't get to the kitchen table to take care of the oldest. I've lived through it and there's no sense in reinventing the wheel.

I write so I can discover the differences in people and appreciate them for those differences. I love handing out the prompts in our workshop and seeing what different pieces come from them. It's always a treat when we share our work and everyone sends a loud cyber applause.

I write because it's fun. More fun than balancing the checkbook or doing laundry or organizing to do taxes or decluttering the house.

I write because I want to sell a book.

I write because I promised my writing buddy I would. :)

Ding, Ding--10 minutes! I did it, Annie! Sorry about yesterday and the day before. :(