So we drink copious amounts of coffee, sit for hours staring at the blank computer screen, get frustrated, write hundreds of drafts but only complete a few, write heaps of stories that no one gets to see or appreciate; but we wouldn’t have it any other way. We have to ask ourselves, why do we do it? Why do we have this passion?
I’m guessing that “why we write” is different for every person out there. Maybe it’s a way of saying all of the things you can’t say out loud, maybe it’s a way of clearing out all of the ideas that fill our minds, or maybe it’s simply the satisfaction of seeing your thoughts on paper. Some write to share with the world and some write to share with only themselves. Every writer is different, in so many ways that even categories aren’t possible, and yet we are all linked by one resounding fact; writing brings meaning to our lives.
So what makes a “writer”? I think pretty much everyone is a writer in some way. A writer is that person on the street corner busking with their own songs. A writer is that kid in your class who sits at the back scribbling phrases in the margins of their textbook, or the kid in the middle passing notes to their friends. A writer can publish articles in a local paper, or speak as a friend at a 21st party, or write an internet blog. They can advertise themselves on Facebook and with their community, or it can be a secret that they are not ready to share. Writers are everywhere. Who do you think wrote the poem on the back of the public toilet door? Or the graffiti on the station walls? I think it would be hard to find someone out there who wasn’t a writer in some way. So even if you haven’t realised it yet, you are a writer too.
I think the reason I write, like many others, is because it’s a way of expressing who I am. It’s a way that I can be completely myself without having to stand in front of everyone and yell “this is me!”. Writing takes me to places in my mind I wouldn’t otherwise have gone. It allows me to explore ideas and memories that otherwise would have been forgotten. It wasn’t until I started writing down one thing I learnt every day, that I realised how much of my life goes unnoticed, and how many little things happen in day-to-day life that I just pass by. It is these events, these tiny undiscovered moments, that fuel my writing and therefore bringing a fullness and completeness to my life that otherwise would not be there.
I like to remember as much as I can. All the people who walk through my life; I want to remember. All the experiences I have; I want to remember. I am scared of forgetting all of these things that were once, even briefly, so important to me. I can imagine that without writing them down in some way, whether it be a journal, poem, short story or one line in a blog; all of this would build up in my mind and consume me. Writing is a release. It is a way of letting go so we can move forward, but still holding on so we can remember. The release can come from writing a seemingly fictional short story and knowing it was based on a truth or simply sharing a story with a friend that would normally have stayed hidden.
It doesn’t matter why you write really; I just think it’s important that you do. If you’re alone, you can find a community in writing. If you’re lost, writing can give you direction. Even if you have the best life imaginable and couldn’t be happier, writing can be a way to document it so you will always have that feeling.
I can't imagine the person I would be without writing. It certainly wouldn't be the person I am now.
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