Why Write?

1-20-09
There are millions of different reasons people write.  It really depends on the person and their need or reason for writing.  Some write simply to tell a story.  There are a bunch of stories in this universe that need to be told, and through writing is a great way to do that.  Others right to teach or inform.  Textbooks do a wonderful job with that… just kidding.  All sorts of forms of the written word can teach something.  People can learn some of the greatest lessons from a poem or a newspaper article.  Newspapers give citizens a clue about what’s going on in the world around them.  Magazines can let teenage girls know what’s going on in their favorite movie star’s life.  Another reason for writing is to express, and there is a lot that can be expressed through writing.  You can spill your guts and let others know what you are feeling through the written word.  That can come in handy with things you may be too shy to say.  People write letters and notes to each other all the times- love letters, break up letters, invitations to birthday parties, announcements, and secret messages.  There are people that write simply for therapeutic reasons.  Some things need to be put to paper.  Journaling can help sort out ones thoughts or help them make a difficult decision.  Some people just need a place where they can write their thoughts on, something that won’t judge them or comment back.  Another reason for writing is to entertain.  Fiction writers do that a lot.



I write mostly to express.  Unless around those that I’m close to, I tend to be very shy.  I can barely even talk to a classroom full of my peers without wanting to go throw up somewhere.  Anyway…  Writing is a way to let people know my opinions, feelings, and thoughts.  It’s also a way I can let my imagination run away with me.  I can put anything I want into a story that I’m writing, and if it’s written well enough, people will accept it.  If I told someone that I have an invisible friend from Neptune that wonders around with me every where I go, I could get some pretty unusual looks from people.  If that were something that I put down in a short story, as long as it has the right amount of verisimilitude, who knows what people might think.  I journal a lot too, but that’s not really to express anything to anyone.  That’s for my own personal reasons.  I don’t like to keep things bottled up inside, because then I’m pretty sure I could explode.  It’s possible.  I’ve seen it happen.  It’s actually happened to me a couple of times.  I also journal and write to simply keep from being bored.  If I journal too much though, I get this weird empty feeling in my head.  It’s like I have no thought in the world left.  That’s not a good thing to do before trying to write papers, because I’ve tried.  It doesn’t turn out good.  I usually stop before I reach the empty head feeling though.