Paraphrasing Dorothy Parker, “I love having written.”
It is that simple. Writing is hard work. Re-writing what I have written is a little easier. Editing and tweaking is easier yet. However, the best part of the process is reading aloud what I have written.
As an example, recently I prepared a sample of my writing for an application to a writing workshop. I pulled out several scenes written in the previous six months, knitted them together, and added a little extra narrative to provide the reader knowledge to understand the scenes out of context.
One scene involves feeding the wounded Dragon. The banter between the protagonist and his Dragon is fun. “You get what you get and you don’t throw a fit.” This scene was well received when read at a public reading.
Another scene involves the protagonist worrying if his Dragon has a fever. He takes the Dragon’s temperature. While he has the thermometer out, he takes his alien girlfriend’s temperature. When her temperature turns out to be the same as an Earth dog, he says, “It says 38.5 degrees — like a dog. That’s why on cold nights it’s cozy to cuddle with you.” She smiled. She did not know what a dog was.
And then, there is the scene I call The Last Newscast. This scene describes watching a video of the alien invasion, the Apocalypse, that had destroyed the civilization on this world. No matter how many times I read it, I cannot get to the end of the scene without breaking down and crying. From outside, the Dragon sensed something through our bond. He called out, “Are you alright, Prey-Animal?” “Yes, Puff. I’m fine.” I lied.
I love having written these 28 pages. I love repeatedly reading them. This is what is the most fun, easy, and satisfying for me. This is why I write.