Dori: Why do you write?

Because you seek fame and fortune?

Not likely if you’re writing for children.

Because you “can’t not write?” I don’t know about you, but I find it very easy to not write. I can always read a book, catch up on e-mail, meet a friend for coffee, take my dog for a walk, teach my dog a new trick, go to a Zumba class (LOVE my Zumba!), play my mandolin, volunteer at the animal shelter, blog, go to a movie, play a game of Scrabble, do a load of laundry, grocery shop, clean, organize a closet or three (the closets in my house REALLY need organizing)...there are a million things I can do every day instead of write.

But most days I write.

Why?

To make sense of the world?

For a long time, I believed this was why I wrote. Writing really does help me make sense of the world. It helps me explore ideas and resolve issues (both real and fictional). Writing also helps me figure out who I am.

But do you know why I really write...what really gives me satisfaction as a writer?

I write because I want to turn non-readers into readers.

It sounds a little egotistical, doesn't it? In fact, it sounds so egotistical that I almost scrapped this blog entry (after all, this is my first post on the Crowe's Nest!) and started a new one.

But it's the truth. I DO write to turn non-readers into readers. That's what it's all about for me. I write for reluctant readers. I also write for beginning readers. There's no greater thrill for me than to receive a letter that begins, "I didn't like to read until I read your 'Do You Know the Monkey Man.'" Or to have a child come up to me during a school visit and say, "Your 'Case of the Lost Boy' was the first chapter book I read all by myself!" That's what keeps me going.

How about you? Why do you write?