Why, then? Why write? You have your reasons, I have mine.
Mine include the alleged therapeutic value for memory and concentration. So far I haven't seen any of that. I have seen it expose a tremendous amount of flaws in said attributes. The number of errors corrected in this paragraph alone so far is disturbing. Even more so the ones I haven't noticed. Some of the mistakes that turn up are indicative of problems worse than forgetfulness or momentary confusion. So was this morning's town trip. But that's another story.
The main reason I do any writing is to distract and amuse myself. The world is not a fun place right now, and even if it were I wouldn't be having a good time in it. Constructing a fantasy world built of words is a harmless hobby. Unless it turns into something worse, such as the manifestation of delusions. So far I've been able to keep tabs on who's real and who is imaginary. Although at one point I imagined one of the characters chastising me for suggesting they might behave in such a way. That's not as odd as it seems because pushing the characters into extremes is a good way to explore what they really would do under the circumstances. You have to get inside their heads, and hope they don't get inside yours instead.
I've read a lot about "how to write" over the past (mumbles the number) years and most of the advice seems strange to me. Apparently there is a school of thought that stories can be achieved by following eight simple rules, or something. In this age it's probably "one weird trick that will make you a successful author". Good thing that's not what I'm aiming for. I prefer H.L. Mencken's advice on how to achieve this goal (quoting from memory so may not be accurate):
"Write a short story. Turn it into a three act play. Expand it to a full-length novel. Put it in a drawer for two years. Then run right out and marry a rich American."
I knew I'd made a mistake somewhere in that process!