Maybe “I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.” (Flannery O’Connor) And then maybe its because “writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don’t feel I should be doing something else.” (Gloria Steinem) I like to think of it as more than the physical act of arranging words on paper but creating a space to communicate with people who sincerely want to listen.
Writing doesn't demand to be defined, it doesn't have a timeline or levels of difficulty to be reached and conquered. I do not believe this is a career someone intentionally finds themselves wrapped up in, you just sort of wander throughout life and before you know it, you’re pouring your thoughts out on the page. I guess what I’m getting at is that you don’t just wake up one morning and declare “I’m going to be a writer”; its something that creeps up on you without notice. Like any other skill, you work at it, you perfect it, and eventually find yourself bragging at how complex or profound you think you are.
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Writing is such an intimate act. People don't have the ability to read minds and some also choose not to vocalize their every inch of brain activity. So when you write with the intention of communicating, you are decreasing the physical noise on this planet but at the same time, adding a voice. At some point, you will go from writing for yourself to writing for others. Whether you are being published or simply allowing family and friends to read your work, that is a major step in its own right.
One of the great struggles, I’ve found, is becoming so passionately wrapped up in a piece that you are scribbling or typing your thoughts so rapidly that when you are done, the question remains: does this make sense to anyone but me? Before I know it, I’m completely ecstatic, big-headed, and praise hungry; leaving my readers confused as to why I started on one topic, then moved to another, then back to the first. When you are so invested, you look over your masterpiece with “heart eyes” revealing in its brilliance and tracing the lines of your thought. However, anyone separate from the creator is reading it for the very first time, from a detached and fresh perspective. Maybe they are following the twists and turns of your thought process as you tell this story; maybe they were lost along the way. But isn’t that the point? The magic in any art form is the way the audience relates to, finds comfort in, and interprets it.
So why do you write? To escape, to tell, wish, describe, reach out, identify, belong…all of the above? That is the beauty of it, you can do all of those things or not. Write as your career or on the side. Write for yourself or just for others. The options are endless and have no borders. It is something you can do for the rest of your life, there is always a story worth sharing, don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise. People may try to dull your voice, but a voice is more than the words that travel from the mouth to the ears. In my findings, nothing awards you greater liberation from the chains of your own conscience, than the self expression of pressing pen to paper.
