Goodreads asked Mark Ferguson:

What’s the best thing about being a writer?

Mark Ferguson When the writing's good for me, I don't know how a chapter will end. When the next paragraph is a complete mystery to me, or even the next sentence, it's getting really good. The feeling of having no control, just witnessing something that's already there flow out, is probably an illusion - Stephen King has spoken of stories as 'found objects', excavated as if by bulldozer, which is a elusive and illusive state that I can approach on occasion, when the story doesn't feel like something I've designed on a blueprint. It's a very nice illusion, maybe comparable to a good experience with hallucinogens (haven't tried yet, but I've heard some interesting things). I'm a control freak in life, so relaxing completely is perhaps the most enjoyable thing I can do. Or perhaps I'm mistaken, and the fact that the story is something I do completely control satisfies my anxious mind - meek people have dominant fantasies, after all. And I have a place for all sorts of dark stuff that would otherwise pile up in my brain. All told, I'm less concerned with the social aspect than many authors, instead using writing as a sort of meditative and stress-relieving tool; everything I do in public feels like a desperate 'hey look at me, aren't I smart' plea. This is still showing off, no doubt, but I'm actually at my least self-conscious when the writing's flowing.

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