Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Are You A Consumer Or A Creator?

We are all consumers.  We read other people's stories, watch their movies, play their games.  We are the audience to countless things.  Some people like it just fine, but for others, it simply isn't good enough.

For as long as I've been a consumer, I have also been a creator.  I loved telling stories, making them up.  I loved playing the what-if game.  I loved taking a core idea and putting a new skin on it.  Watching TV was great - I did a lot of it - but I always wanted to make my own.

Some people are completely content being a consumer.  They are happy with receiving all of those ideas and being entertained by them.  I truly do understand these people.  In my unhappier times, I have tried to be a consumer only.  But it never stuck.  I had this feeling that I just couldn't shake.  I simply needed to create.

A classic question asked of writers is why they went into writing.  A classic answer is "I had to."  That's basically what my post amounts to.  I write because I have to; I can't keep it inside.  I need to get it out on paper.  But now you have a slightly better explanation.  It is an internal itch that I know I have, that not everybody on earth seems to have, and that only creating can scratch.

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