Why Do I Write?

     I get asked this quite a bit.  Why do I write?  For some people, the thought of sitting down and writing a book would be torture.  Reading, now that's fun, right?  But writing, who has the time?  I write because it's just something I have to do.  I need to do it.  If I don't, things get ugly.  Writing keeps the volcano from erupting.  Writing keeps the clouds away.  Writing keeps me sane.  Period.  It cleanses my soul, not in an atonement kind of way, but in a throw the garbage out and make room for happiness kind of way.  I recently went through a divorce after 19 years of marriage and writing a book about a girl who ends her marriage was very cathartic.  I think, oops, I know that if you look through all of my past books, you'll see that every book is me dealing with some strange, weird or hard issue in my life.  Which is good. For me anyways.  I get to write about it, deal with it and then thankfully - let it go. Move on and be free.  I know that's why God gave us talents.  Each one of has one.  We just have to figure out what it is, use it, and make our lives better because of it.  Hopefully in the process we make someone else's life better too.  I know art, poetry and music uplift me.  I can't draw or paint, and I couldn't write a haiku if you had gun to my head.  And please don't sit next to me in church if you want to hear something pleasant.  But I'm so grateful for the people who do have those talents and who are brave enough to share them.  They cleanse.  They uplift.  They make me happy. I hope I can do that for someone else.