Why do we write?

I was inspired to create this post by @jmacthedream. Here I extend my comments on his blog.

I invite you to join me in the comments. What fires you to put words on the page?

So, why do I write?

I love being surrounded by books and totally engrossed in creating … in finding the perfect explanation, description or sound. Time just evaporates. Others have called this a flow state.

There was a time when I only wrote about sad and ugly things,¹ and it seemed to keep me dwelling on them. I was tempted to stop, because of that.

Sometimes it’s a rant to expel pain, which feels like it needs to be done. That process seems to help me heal.

At times I feel compelled to write, so there’s no way around it.

I love to play with words and sounds, and to meet words I don’t know yet — and the challenge of attempting to fit words to a new technique.

I even love the physical sensations of writing — kinaesthetically and aurally — the feel and sounds of my keys tapping along on the keyboard; the holding of a pen, the slide of the ink — and the pleasing visual effects of writing on a page or on screen: when I manage to get the layout, punctuation and capitalisation of a poem just right; or when I’m happy about the look of my handwriting itself.

It’s satisfying to finish polishing, if I achieve a point where I’m happy with a piece.

Often I’ll write because I want to let people know about an injustice that I feel particularly strongly about. I want to communicate, to raise awareness of issues, or to connect people who care about the same things. I want to stir people to act to fix something. (I started a whole other blog just for this.)

I like reading my work out loud, and I love it when people read my work (even better if they say nice things), so there’s probably an aspect of liking the attention writing can bring — the interactions it gives rise to.

I like coming back to read things I’ve written previously — and being surprised if they’re better than I thought!

How about you?

Photo by Esmanur Gu00fcler on Pexels.com

P.S. My original post on this topic (seven years ago) was quite different:

Why do I write?

@Jmacthedream’s post:

Why Do You Write?

1. “In literature, conflict functions as the central plot mechanism in almost every work of fiction, and major narrative structures in Western storytelling are built around a character’s attempt to confront and resolve it” Arbento ↩︎