Why Keep Writing?

 Because writers, write. Publishing is another thing, entirely.

And in support of my thesis, I will borrow Margaret Atwood.

At 83, you are still publishing a book every year. Can you see yourself ever slowing down?
What is this word “ever”? Yes, there’s a ticking clock. You may have noticed. But you keep on until you’re finished, you know? Until you don’t have anything more to say or do. Lying on the beach has never been my idea of a good time. Writers don’t stop, they just keep going like the Energizer Bunny; keep going and then fall over. Having said that, some publishers, if you wrote the telephone book they would publish it anyway, no matter how bad it was, because they think: “We can sell this.” That’s my nightmare. So, I have some trusted readers outside of publishing and their job is to tell me – is this bad? And they will tell me the truth because there’s nothing in it for them not to.

Margaret Atwood: ‘It would be fun to talk to Simone de Beauvoir , an interview.

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