Why I Write

Today is the National Day on Writing.

This day was founded by the National Council of Teachers of English on the premise that writing is critical to literacy but needs greater attention and celebration.

To me writing is a core part of who I am.

The voices, ideas and worlds in my head have to be let out or else they just keep banging on my skull.

As I began to share more of my writing with the masses, I realized the power of words to inspire others.

The fact that I still get notes from readers who discover Amazing Things Will Happen at their local library or bookstore and thank me for writing it means that my words are making an impact.

Every time a student or executive thanks me for co-writing Content Rules I'm filled with pride.

So, to the question of #WhyIWrite my answer is:

If you have a moment, please share why you write on your social network(s) of choice and use the hashtag #WhyIWrite.

Besides being an inspiration day for the masses, today is extra special for me.

Today, I can let you know that I've been hired to be the host of the new Why I Write Podcast.

We are going to be interviewing a variety of people and talking to them about the how and why they write. My hope is that we get to talk to writers of music, video games, screenplays, poetry, theater and of course books.

You can listen to our first episode with author Brad Meltzer now and new episodes will be coming out every two weeks.

Subscribe with iTunes or with our RSS feed in your player of choice.

This is a dream project for me and already it has sparked me to write more. I hope it has the same effect on people around the world.

I'm looking forward to where this partnership with NCTE goes. I have a feeling there are many exciting times ahead.