The Review Review

Are you a writer looking for places to submit your work? Are you an editor wondering what readers think of your journal? Are you looking for tips on publishing in literary magazines? If so, you are in the right place. Please stay awhile, have a look around the site, get in touch to tell us what you think or to become a reviewer. And good luck with all your literary endeavors!

by Becky Tuch

 

"Why do you write?" a friend recently asked me. It was an innocent question. She, also a writer, was simply curious about what made people do this bizarre activity that isn't part of most people's lives.

 

I found myself in a rare moment of speechlessness. I shrugged. I sipped my drink. I offered an utterly un-eloquent answer: "Huh. Never really thought about it."

 

Certainly I've asked myself other writing-related questions. Like, "Why are you trying to make a living doing this?" (Because I'm naive and possibly crazy.) "Why aren't you submitting more stories to writing contests?" (Because I'm broke.) "Why has it taken you so long to finish your novel?" (Because I've had to live more and learn a thing or two.)

 

But why write? To me, it's like asking why somebody eats dinner. I've been writing for as long as I've known how. My earliest journal entries were written in magic marker, and were records of what my mother put in my lunch box for me. Then there was the novel I wrote in Fourth Grade, a tale of two sister detectives who investigate an arson: Cindy, Wendy and Danger: A Novel of Mystery and Excitement!!!

 

It was fascinating to discover that among my friends, our motives for writing are as diverse as our writing styles. One friend said he became a writer so that he could get laid. He was as shocked that had never crossed my mind as I was shocked to hear this.

 

"Must be a guy thing," I muttered. I remembered something about my brother learning French in High School so he could pick up girls.

 

"I started to write because my first love has always been books," said my other friend. "I loved what was happening in books so much that I wanted to do it myself."

 

That, too, was true for me. I remembered reading The Human Stain by Philip Roth and thinking, I want to do this. I have to do this!

 

We then started talking about all the novels and short stories that made us want to become writers, the moments in books that we'd never forget, the stories that ripped our hearts out  and then handed them back to us anew. Those were the things that inspired us, that kept us going.

 

It was nice that none of us mentioned getting famous. And no one mentioned getting published. My friend did hope his writing would bring in more babes. But that could just as well happen if he published or not.

 

We come to writing through love. A love of the process. Or a love of what other people have processed and produced. And it's wonderfully refreshing to think of that. To remember that, when the rejection slips mount or the agent queries go unanswered, or the 21-year-old sitting next to you on the bus has more publishing credits than you do.

 

The love of writing is what keeps all of us in it. And if you love it, you will work hard to feed and nourish the craft. And if you nourish your love and pay attention to what people tell you about your work, the publishing will follow sooner or later.

 

Maybe this is all redundant. Maybe you all know this already. But what the hell, I thought I'd remind you, and myself for that matter. If you've come to this site looking for luck, here it is: Having a love for writing makes you a lucky one indeed.

 

Becky Tuch is the Founding Editor of The Review Review.