Understanding writers

We write because we are not rock stars: 
Writing is a public performance by a shy artist for an audience of one. Singers and actors have their stage and their spotlight; they reap the applause and risk the jeers of a crowd that pays to face them. Writers speak through newsprint and 72 pixels-per-inch to people lost to themselves in trains, offices and Internet cafes. Ours is a quiet craft for distant strangers. 

We write because it is a dare: 
Publishing commits us to our own assertions and opinions. We dare to make a stand with what we print. Writing is premeditated. Our writing is everyone’s damning evidence; with it we can free others or hang ourselves. Writing makes us responsible and brave. Or it kills us. 

We write because you read: 
Never a captive audience, the reader who can dismiss us with a flip of a page or a press of a button keeps us sharp. For your reading pleasure we hone our craft. For your attention we entertain with wit, fact and insight. We avoid stumbling or boring you with one too many words. The writer, like a waiter, draws attention not to himself but to what he serves. 

We write because we are more than our selves: 
Words are all that we leave behind. Without writing, all that we are and all that we know last only as long as memory. With writing we live well beyond our lives. With our words we will be known. 

We write because we are writers: 
Writing is our honesty. With words we label thoughts lurking at the back of our heads, tame problems entangling our hearts and frame memories that cloud our sight. With our writing we make sense of our lives and of our world. Like honesty, writing can sunder friendships and shatter dreams. Yet we write because our truth demands it. 

We write because words lead to actions: 
All good writing is ultimately motivational. With words we question, reveal, provoke and move you. Reading is not the end of writing. Writing is the part we play. You the reader need to find and act upon yours.