Dana suggested that I write today's post on hurt. She said that you don't really know you have a heart until it's broken, so hurt is something huge and life-changing. I thought that was really profound and so true. But I couldn't think of a way to bring it back to writing.

So I went with Heart. Heart & Soul.

Am I the only one with that song stuck in my head now? My mom taught me to play it and we used to play together all the time. Ahh, the memories. Dum, dum, dum...

Anyway, that's not what this post is about. The Heart & Soul I'm referring to is what we put into our writing. The hours and days and months and years we slave over each and every syllable. The blood, sweat and tears we pour into our characters, bringing them to life. The...

You get what I'm saying. There isn't a writer out there who doesn't know what I mean. This writing thing? It ain't easy. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication. Commitment. And a hell of a lot of faith. You work so hard on something you can't be sure will even work out in the end. You spend so much time (and sometimes money) on this thing because you love it. Because, let's face it, we don't do it for the money.

But we wouldn't work so hard if our hearts weren't in it.

What about you? Why do you write? How much heart and soul do you put into your writing?