Why do writers write?

Good question!

Different writers have different answers.

I like David Baldacci’s explanation best.

When he received another Mystery Writers of America award for Best New Novel in a Series at Bouchercon in New Orleans last year, he said he’s often asked, “After all these years of success with your bestselling novels, why do you keep writing more of them?”

His answer?

He exclaimed emphatically, “I tell them it’s because I’m trying to make a fucking difference!” And as he had reminded us, “This is coming from the guy whose first successful bestselling novel (Absolute Power) was about a narcissistic President who thought he was above the law. Now look where we are!”

Skip to the free books for your next favourite Mystery, Thriller, Suspense novel at:

https://books.bookfunnel.com/mysterythrillerspotlightapril/10budwryze

Award-winning and bestselling author, Louise Penny, has also been very outspoken about her political views and opinions and as a Canadian writer has been boycotting any US events and media channels controlled or influenced by the Trump administration. It has not been well received by some American readers and fans, but she has responded that whatever she writes she has to be true to herself. “If there’s blowback from some readers and it hurts sales, so be it.”

Rick Mofina, another Canadian crime writer and internationally acclaimed award-winning and bestselling author has said that throughout his career as a journalist and subsequently as a novelist, he has always felt the responsibility “to provide comfort to the victims and to confront the perpetrators of crime and injustice.”

These are the writers I admire. I try to follow their lead in writing with integrity and purpose. Delivering books that have value beyond entertainment and an escape from the real world and everyone’s struggles to survive and thrive. Writing that presents ideas, information, and inspiration to change lives by changing attitudes and behaviour, one reader at a time.

And that leads me to my own story and my plans to support and promote those writers who have a purpose, “To make a difference,” and who have the courage and commitment to speak up on important social and political issues regardless of the potential blowback and loss of readers and fans.

My story – Why I write

I discovered in high school that I had a strong interest in writing and the use of language and that I had an aptitude for it. I considered becoming a writer in grade eleven but the teacher in my first journalism class told me, “Chatterson, get out of here. You’re in the University Program and this is a vocational course.”

So, being a well-behaved and respectful young man at the time, I went on to university and studied engineering at UBC then business at McGill and had a thirty-five-year career in business, entrepreneurship, and consulting before attempting to test my skills at writing. By then my experience included a lot of report writing and client presentations so my first published works were books on management and leadership for entrepreneurs and business owners. The first two books published in 2014 were The Complete Do-It-Yourself Guide to Business Plans and DON’T DO IT THE HARD WAY. Ironically, I did it the hard way by self-publishing my books but with the help of qualified and experienced professionals in editing, publishing, marketing, and distribution.

As an experienced entrepreneur and business advisor, I was less naïve than most ambitious self-published writers and able to avoid being taken advantage of by the aggressive and hard-selling author service companies. They’re known as the “vanity press” and as I’ve discovered, their business model is to stroke your ego with one hand and pick your pocket with the other. It can be a painful and expensive experience without the satisfying conclusion of a bestselling or award-winning book!

After learning the process of writing, publishing, marketing and distribution, I realized that I enjoyed both the creative writing and the business aspects of the publishing and bookselling industry.

More importantly, I tapped into an unrealized talent for story-telling and the art of writing in those first two business books. Then I realized that it would be even more fun and more satisfying to both me and the readers to take the real-life business stories of business and entrepreneurship and turn them into crime fiction novels involving a young entrepreneur fighting crime and corruption in the international business world. The Dale Hunter Thriller Series was born in a departure lounge at San Diego airport in 2016 with five titles and tag lines which were published from 2018 to 2024, as well as revised 2020 editions of the two business books. The sixth Dale Hunter Thriller was published in 2025 and I’m now working on the seventh. In addition, I’ve written and published several short stories, including Volume 1 of The Kid from California Short Story Series in 2025.

Looking back on my published writing, including dozens of articles and blog posts at DelvinChatterson.com and LearningEntrpreneurship.com, I’ve recognized my purpose in writing and storytelling – both facts and fiction about entrepreneurship – in the business books and in the novels. I’m sharing the lessons of life to help entrepreneurs be better and do better and to support responsible, ethical, enlightened entrepreneurs by having the public become more sympathetic and understanding of what entrepreneurs do and how they deliver value to society. Sharing stories to inform, advise, inspire, and motivate readers and listeners to also make a difference.

That’s why I write.

And as you know, while I’m busy writing with a purpose, I feel the obligation to give you more opportunities to read books that are worth reading. So here again are more suggestions for your reading pleasure.