Musings

Why Do You Write?

~ Donna Drew Sawyer ~ Leave a comment

cropped-cropped-iStock_000009439591Large.jpgI asked a wonderfully cerebral friend of my daughter’s if he was planning to attend my reading at the Gaithersburg Book Festival on the 21st of May. Afraid of facing empty chairs at my event, I am unapologetically asking EVERYONE that question in these days leading up to the Festival. My young friend told me that he’d be there and that he was ready with questions that he planned to ask me.

“Like what? Give me an example,” I asked, confident that I was prepared to field any question about my book.

“I’d like to know why you write.”  His question stopped me cold.

No one had ever asked me that before. I’ve been asked what I write about, how I write, when, where and how long but never, why?

Words on paper have always been my preferred method of communication. I was the shy child in an outgoing family and found refuge in reading and eventually courage and encouragement when I expressed myself in writing. When I write I have every sentiment and delivery skill at my disposal—tools I find harder to access in verbal communication. There are rarely, “Wish I’d said that, or hadn’t said that,” moments in a manuscript. Omniscience can be obtained through research and experience. Thoughtful beginnings, middles and ends can be crafted in stories carefully plotted and executed. I can make story arcs and characters curve in the direction I choose. Loose ends are tied, what’s lost can be found and, love and happiness can blossom with a few keystrokes. And, there is always the opportunity for revision. This is what I like about writing—it is not why I write.

I’m not sure I have a profound answer to my young friend’s insightful question. The closest I can come is to say that like the color of my eyes, the sound of my voice, being part of my family—it is something I was born with. Ideas and images compel their way through me to become what I write. Why I write is the same reason I breathe—because I have to.

What compels you to do the creative thing you do? Leave me a note in the comments section, I’d love to hear why you do what you do.

Best Cable Service Call Ever!

~ Donna Drew Sawyer ~ 1 Comment
© Mr. TinDC on Flickr
© Mr. TinDC on Flickr

Last night our digital video recorder (DVR) lost half of our 60 Minutes  recording so I called the cable provider to see what the problem was. I had to wait about fifteen minutes with the customer service representative on the line so the cable box could reset and we could test another recording. We started chatting to pass the time and at one point in the conversation she told me she liked to read more than watch television. I told her I was the same way and asked what kind of books she likes,

“I like a book that really pulls me into the story and I like books that have history in them.”

I told her I had just written a book like that and told her a little about PROVENANCE.

“Is there a Kindle edition?” she asked. I said yes. She was silent for a few minutes then said,

“I just bought your book. The first line reads, “’Hank, run!’ was the last thing he heard Junior say.”

First time I’ve ever been thankful for a cable company glitch. Sold a book and got my DVR working again. Thank you CSR Ms. M!

As I said, best cable service call ever!

 

Out of, or Into, My Comfort Zone

~ Donna Drew Sawyer ~ Leave a comment

With Lalita Tademy - National Book Festival 9-5-15Writers by nature seem to be a solitary bunch, much more comfortable face-to-face with a blank page than the prospect of talking to strangers. Authors on the other hand must be bold, engaging and engaged in order to bring an audience to their book. I am in the process of making the transition from writer to author and I took a bold step down that path this weekend.

After hearing Lalita Tademy, one of my favorite authors, gave a talk at the National Book Festival last Saturday, I went up to her to tell her how much I enjoyed her talk. After a couple of minutes of chatting I surprised myself and asked her if she would consider writing a blurb for my book. After she told me how to contact her, I thanked her and left wondering when I became that bold author I need to be to bring an audience to my book.

With booklover, Tina, at the 2015 National Book Festival
With book lover, Tina, at the 2015 National Book Festival

My audacity was further rewarded when a woman named Tina from a local book club, who overheard my conversation with Ms. Tademy, followed me out and asked me about the availability of my book so they could consider it their November selection. Wow!

Being bold is not so bad – I kinda like it.

What Impact Art?

Video ~ ~ Donna Drew Sawyer ~ Leave a comment

The visual arts are a primary theme in my novel, Provenance. Throughout the story my characters use art to enlightened, inspire, rescue, and even redeem themselves; demonstrating that art is more than just paintings and pictures. Art has impact; it is a social, political, economic, educational and cultural force.

In a recent video posted by Big Think, curator Sarah Lewis illustrates that point with images and history. Well worth watching.