Many people claim writing as a hobby. Which, in a way, I suppose it is. But to me, writing as a hobby is journaling, expressing your feelings and ideas so no one can see. Like when you draw for a hobby, you don't go out and show the world your pictures (prime example: me).
No, writing is not my hobby. Writing is my passion, my release, my escape, my own little separate world where I can just be me but not really. My characters most definitely are not me. If anyone has read Unpredictable Prophecies, I am nothing like Acadia. I made some of my experiences hers but she's a thousand times stronger than I am, and a lot more vocal. I would never be able to do 90% of what she does in the book, same for the next one (that I am currently working on). Several of my characters range throughout the entire spectrum of personalities.
I say writing is a passion because it is. If I didn't love it, I wouldn't do it. If I can't put my whole mind and soul into doing something, why should I continue to do it? Because that's what writing is. It's the soul. The thousands of tiny, microscopic pieces of your soul which you share with the world. When you give up a book for publishing, it's as if you've just ripped your whole arm off and placed it on a silver platter. Will they like it? you wonder. Will they love it? There's so much pressure; if you don't write as a passion, you'll soon quit. Which is where it also becomes a release.
Writing is a release because there's so much stuff going on in my head, so many voices demanding to be expressed, it's nice to finally let it out, whether by typing or hand writing. I have so many different ideas stuck in my head, it's nearly impossible to keep up with my trilogy (which is why it's taking so long for me to finish it). I seriously offer kudos to those authors who can stay on track with their series.
My favorite part is creating my own world with its own rules, where nothing has to make sense but it somehow does when it's all done. It helps me think maybe this world, the one we all live in, will somehow become better if only it were like mine more. There have been so many occasions where I've caught myself wishing either my world was real or I could just get sucked into it. I guess that's my problem. I'm stuck in a fantasy. But what other way would I have it? It's how I live. I'm not going to change my way of life to accommodate the peace of mind of others. I'm a writer. I'm supposed to be a little 'out there'.
If I couldn't write, I don't know what I would do instead. I'd feel too empty, too normal. And no one wants to be classified as 'normal' so they blend with the crowd. Be individual, be unique.
