I've been thinking about "why write" for the last few days and brought it up in a chat with participants from Summer Brennan's recent Essay Camp. Here is one response I got and I love it:
"Kay Ryan writes in one of her essays contained in "Synthesizing Gravity”:
It was the one question of my whole life, but I asked it with no sense of weight, as though it were casual: Shall I be a writer?
I don’t know where the answer came from, but it wasn’t what I expected. I suppose I expected an evaluation of my talents and chances of success. What I heard was, ‘Do you like it?’
I have never heard anything so right. Yes; I did like it, that was all there was to it. I laughed and laughed and laughed.
Laugh Marie!"
So, why do I write? Because I like it :-)
I do think all your reasons for writing are good ones. I particularly like the idea of your children reading your work and getting to know you.
I love that! What a perfect answer. There’s something about writing that makes us tie ourselves in knots in order to understand the ‘why’ of it all, when actually it’s fine for it to be that we ‘like’ it!
I need more of that perpective. I question everything, and that’s exhausting!
I write to untangle the threads of my thoughts and crochet them into a beautiful new fabric.
I write to transform the cacophony of my thoughts into a symphony, harmonizing the discordant notes into a melody that resonates with the rhythm of my soul and might create a song that others can sing along with.
I write to celebrate the beauty in the everyday, transforming ordinary occurrences into extraordinary narratives that highlight and amplify the richness of life.
I write in order to build bridges between the self I was, the self I am now and the self I will become. I write in order to build bridges between myself and others.
I write because I can’t imagine what it would be not to write.
I want to write. When I sit down, I want to write. When I see or hear something interesting, I want to write. When I'm moved by something, in any way, I want to write.
I can't say it's my primary means of expression because, of course, I'm chattering away all the time, and also what I'm wearing is something of an expression, but it seems that's not enough because, I still want to write.
Thanks, June. Excellent reasons. Yes completely. Also a sense of ‘because we have to.’ For a time, the pull of writing felt torturous until I found a way to channel it without expectation of accolades. Not sure if this is age or just a maturing of understanding that I don’t need ‘pats on the head’ to write in a fulfilling way. I’m lucky in that I feel I have two outlets for emotions and thoughts, which are writing and photography.
Yeah, writing what we're thinking, feeling and/or experiencing, enables our mind to better process and evaluate such thoughts; it helps us to better understand, and be more objective towards our thoughts........hence we're able to properly deal with them and move forward.
For me, I write my articles as a way of expressing myself and letting out my strong feelings about various issues, and also to help spread awareness to others on those various issues.
Yes makes complete sense x the world is filled with ‘us’. I can’t imagine a world before the written world. Well I can but it’s almost too scary to think that once we existed connected to each other, knowing who we were. Sharing the stories of those that came before us and keeping them alive through oral traditions. And now? What will be left of our ‘legacy’ when we are gone? A digital footprint is what we can hope for. AI to connect words to our name. I guess we better write something meaningful then! And put alt captions on our images? I use my writing and photography to navigate my emotions daily. Nice to meet you. X
I appreciate the simple way you express the essence of why you write. The notion of writing as a tool to be understood and to humanize yourself is beautifully articulated. Writing as a connection to a wiser version of yourself is a powerful motivator. It speaks to the profound impact that writing has on our sense of identity and self-improvement. Thank you for this introspective piece.
keep writing without the why, you make a hell of a good job. (noticed the new writing name 😉😊). lovely photo
Thanks so much. You’re so encouraging and it’s appreciated. Yes, names can hold us back, don’t you think? 😉 😊
with a name like mine, no i don't think so 😂😂😂
I've been thinking about "why write" for the last few days and brought it up in a chat with participants from Summer Brennan's recent Essay Camp. Here is one response I got and I love it:
"Kay Ryan writes in one of her essays contained in "Synthesizing Gravity”:
It was the one question of my whole life, but I asked it with no sense of weight, as though it were casual: Shall I be a writer?
I don’t know where the answer came from, but it wasn’t what I expected. I suppose I expected an evaluation of my talents and chances of success. What I heard was, ‘Do you like it?’
I have never heard anything so right. Yes; I did like it, that was all there was to it. I laughed and laughed and laughed.
Laugh Marie!"
So, why do I write? Because I like it :-)
I do think all your reasons for writing are good ones. I particularly like the idea of your children reading your work and getting to know you.
I love that! What a perfect answer. There’s something about writing that makes us tie ourselves in knots in order to understand the ‘why’ of it all, when actually it’s fine for it to be that we ‘like’ it!
I need more of that perpective. I question everything, and that’s exhausting!
Just gorgeous, Nat. You've said it all. 🙌
Thank you! I'm so glad you think so <3
I write to untangle the threads of my thoughts and crochet them into a beautiful new fabric.
I write to transform the cacophony of my thoughts into a symphony, harmonizing the discordant notes into a melody that resonates with the rhythm of my soul and might create a song that others can sing along with.
I write to celebrate the beauty in the everyday, transforming ordinary occurrences into extraordinary narratives that highlight and amplify the richness of life.
I write in order to build bridges between the self I was, the self I am now and the self I will become. I write in order to build bridges between myself and others.
I write because I can’t imagine what it would be not to write.
Beautifully expressed x
Brilliant
Thanks, Louise x
I think my answer is mostly because I want to...
I want to write. When I sit down, I want to write. When I see or hear something interesting, I want to write. When I'm moved by something, in any way, I want to write.
I can't say it's my primary means of expression because, of course, I'm chattering away all the time, and also what I'm wearing is something of an expression, but it seems that's not enough because, I still want to write.
Thanks, June. Excellent reasons. Yes completely. Also a sense of ‘because we have to.’ For a time, the pull of writing felt torturous until I found a way to channel it without expectation of accolades. Not sure if this is age or just a maturing of understanding that I don’t need ‘pats on the head’ to write in a fulfilling way. I’m lucky in that I feel I have two outlets for emotions and thoughts, which are writing and photography.
Yeah, writing what we're thinking, feeling and/or experiencing, enables our mind to better process and evaluate such thoughts; it helps us to better understand, and be more objective towards our thoughts........hence we're able to properly deal with them and move forward.
For me, I write my articles as a way of expressing myself and letting out my strong feelings about various issues, and also to help spread awareness to others on those various issues.
Yes makes complete sense x the world is filled with ‘us’. I can’t imagine a world before the written world. Well I can but it’s almost too scary to think that once we existed connected to each other, knowing who we were. Sharing the stories of those that came before us and keeping them alive through oral traditions. And now? What will be left of our ‘legacy’ when we are gone? A digital footprint is what we can hope for. AI to connect words to our name. I guess we better write something meaningful then! And put alt captions on our images? I use my writing and photography to navigate my emotions daily. Nice to meet you. X
I appreciate the simple way you express the essence of why you write. The notion of writing as a tool to be understood and to humanize yourself is beautifully articulated. Writing as a connection to a wiser version of yourself is a powerful motivator. It speaks to the profound impact that writing has on our sense of identity and self-improvement. Thank you for this introspective piece.
As William Faulkner said: "Nothing brings peace but writing".