Q1) Why do we write?

That was the first question... Why do we write?

To be perfectly honest, Sally had no idea. She didn't really have a reason to write, it's not like she really aspired to be an author, the words would just take hold of her.

She wrote because she became the words, they would free themselves from her and print themselves on the page. She didn't have to think, she just lived the characters, the worlds, and then it would be written.

She didn't exactly care about the writing aspect, sure she knew that she was writing, but she was just swallowed up by the world as it unfolded itself. It wouldn't do as she said, rather she followed the rules it gave her.

She was impressed by the worlds her mind fabricated around individual questions she had. Taking ideas she got from other stories and books, and changing everything. Everyone said that's just how it worked, but Sally would never remember putting the pen to paper.

Some of her charaters wrote, and they all had reason to. The lost dragon wrote to explore worlds without the threat of loss, the powerless child incased in a world of danger wrote for an escape from the misery and give herself a story of joy. Some would write because they had powers connected to words, others because their voices would reach everyone, some because they wanted to be remembered, and others to create joy from their fingertips.

Sally wrote because she was the characters. She wouldn't choose, bad things would happen to her... She would cry, lose, be hurt, suffer, be left alone, or surrounded by friends, family, laugh, win and heal... All without leaving her seat in class, her bed at night or anything.

She didn't have worlds at her fingertips, ideas held her as a tool to be free. She became a million things, changed species, gender and sexuality.

Sally didn't know where these worlds, ideas, or questions came from, or why they chose a bland girl such as herself to tell them... But if they wanted her to be the one who would share them then she would.

Looking at her dirty blonde hair always either in a messy low bun, or twin braids at the base of her skull, scattering of pale brown freckles on her forever blushing cheeks, her crystal clear eyes hidden by thick brown glasses, her pastel pink lips that were always dry and cracked you wouldn't think she was anything much. Her eyes were a pure, pale green which seemed to gleam whenever she was passionate about her words were enchanting if you took the time. Her little button nose made her look like an adorable child. None of this made anyone think she would be a good writer, they would always class her as a reader.

(Made on apps so not exactly what she looks like but fairly close)

She would read a lot, but she would always feel the world better if she was the one writing. Not that she couldn't get immersed in worlds that weren't her own. It's just, when reading you go along with the character and certain bits are very jarring compared to how the characters would behave. Meanwhile, when she wrote she was the character, they did as they would so nothing would jarr.

If the author wasn't in control then they couldn't slip up because of some romanticised cliché, the characters were people who lived, breathed, thought and moved, they weren't meer ideas.

I think therefore I am well if that's all it took then all of her charaters were real. They weren't stories, they were lives.

Looking at her watch, Sally sighed. She had been thinking for three minutes already, she had better answer this question already.

ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴏɴᴇ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇs ғᴏʀ ᴅɪғғᴇʀᴇɴᴛ ʀᴇᴀsᴏɴs; ғʀᴇᴇᴅᴏᴍ, ᴘᴏᴡᴇʀ, ᴅᴇsɪʀᴇ, ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ, ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ.

ɪ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜsᴇ ɪ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴀ ᴍɪʟʟɪᴏɴ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ, ᴀ ᴍɪʟʟɪᴏɴ ᴛʜɪɴɢs ᴀɴᴅ ʟɪᴠᴇ ɪɴғɪɴɪᴛᴇ ʟɪᴠᴇs. ᴀs ʟᴏɴɢ ᴀs ɪ ᴄᴀɴ ᴘᴜᴛ ᴘᴇɴ ᴛᴏ ᴘᴀᴘᴇʀ, ᴏʀ ғɪɴɢᴇʀ ᴛᴏ ᴋᴇʏʙᴏᴀʀᴅ ɪ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅs ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ, ᴡᴀɪᴛɪɴɢ ғᴏʀ ᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ sᴇᴛ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ғʀᴇᴇ ᴀɴᴅ sʜᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ᴏᴜʀ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏᴜʀ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ғʀᴇᴇᴅ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ʟɪᴠᴇs, ᴛᴏ sᴇᴇ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴏɴᴇ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴏ sᴇᴇ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ sɪᴅᴇ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀᴅs.

That wasn't the best way to phrase how Sally truly felt about writing, but it was an hour long exam with 70 questions and this was only worth two marks... She had spent too long on this.

Hopefully she wouldn't do this for every question. Sally turned the page and continued the exam.