Reasons We Write...And Why We Don't

Monday, I think, I printed out 111 pages of my unfinished novel.  I had reached what I hoped was a good stopping point.  My mother just so happened to find out.  She wants to read my story.

I have just a  little issue with that.

May 21, 2008, the Short Stories Newsletter from Writing.Com states the second top reason writers don't write: 

2. But what if my Mom reads my work?  I write Erotica. There, I've said it out loud. I'd probably shrivel up and die if my Mom ever read my Erotic tale, which is why I had it published under a pen name. You can't worry about someone else's opinions of the kind of writing you do, or you'll never start writing.

For the record, I don't write Erotica, never even tried.  I write fantasy, and my mother is not overly fond of that genre.  She and my sister primarily read romances.  I love romance too, even have a romantic comedy in progress because I love watching those and reading them is just as fun, but my favorite genre remains fantasy.  It's what got me reading after all.

So, when she told me she wanted to read it...well...The "bad idea" siren went off in my head.  Luckily for both my mom and myself, I've come to terms with the fact that she'll be reading it over the weekend.  I told my mom she could see it after I'd taken the red pen to it.  I'm hoping the red marks don't confuse her too much...There's so many...


Now for my "Why" Lists:
Why I Write:
1-Because if I don't, I'm a mean you-know-what.  (Ask anyone who was around me when I took that hiatus in tenth grade.)
2-These characters are giving me a story to tell.  (Why I began writing in the first place.)
3-I want to share a new spiritual idea and hopefully get some feedback and opinions.
4-Something funny happened and maybe it'll make other people laugh too.
5-If it's my diary, I just need a vent fest.

Why I Don't Write:
1-I've written an entire blogpost.  But when it came time to actually post it, I just clicked out of it.  It was too personal and I didn't want it all over the internet.  (Well, that was writing, it just didn't exist anymore.)
2-I've got writer's block.
3-I'm not reading anything so my literary juices are depleted.  I can't write if I'm not reading a good book.  I need literary stimulation.
4-The downside to reading is that I don't WANT to write and just finish out the book I started.  I can't even think about writing.
5-I have no idea what to write about, or if I do, I don't have enough to say to finish it out, so I don't.