by Nathan Higgins

Created on: August 07, 2008

Some men build bridges and towers. Some men scale mountains and sail across the seas. Some men achieve victories and are hailed as great warriors and great leaders.

And some men write. The written word is their monument. The written word is their great achievement. Long after the heroes and the athletes are gone and forgotten, long after the wind has blown down the flags from the tops of the mountains, the writer's work lives on. It outlasts so many other achievements of men.

Longevity, though, is not the only siren call that lures writers to write. The song that lures most is the sweet serenade which promises a financial reward.

Some write for money, and there is certainly money to be made in writing. A writer who expects to make money should take it for granted that he needs to produce a written product that is worth its weight in gold. Yet it takes more than a quality product to attract quality money. A writer's key for financial success is not found as much in the ability to "write well" as it is found in the ability to "sell well". A writer who hopes to make money in writing would do well to note that the financial winners are often hailed as "best selling" authors.

Perhaps one of the biggest reasons that writers write is for the opportunity to extend their sphere of influence. The written word, which can outlast the life of a man, can also spread like wildfire. In the information age, a piece of writing can cross the globe in a matter of moments, with the potential to be read by thousands or even millions of people.

Writing, a writer can take the opportunity to speak his mind and share his thoughts; he can bring others over to share his point of view - whether his chosen genre is poetry or prose, fiction or non-fiction, essays and speeches, lyrical songs, or books for children.

The written word can be consumed without ever being completely used up. It can be read and read again by new and newer readers for generations upon generations. New meanings and applications can be found by each reader and with each reading.

The power that lies behind the written word gives the writer a sense of accomplishing something great, even greater than building bridges or towers, scaling mountains, or sailing the seas. His conquest is achieved through the influence of his written word. The power that the writer is able to harness to create something that stands the test of time beckons to him to take a pen in hand and start scratching, to pull a keyboard close and start tapping away.

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