Why I write… I write to capture the magic spell of storytime when my senses tingled with anticipation and connected me to a gripping book world. Some of my earliest memories are of snuggling next to my sister Sharon as she read aloud to me. I loved finding out what would happen next in each of those stories and soon began making up my own. Storytelling was fun.
Why I Write
I Write Because I am Stubborn
To make a long story short, my introverted ways and left-handed pencil-holding preference put me at odds with my kindergarten teacher Mrs. Whiteside. That old bat practically destroyed my insatiable desire to learn as well as squashing my budding storytelling talent. Then one day I was rescued by my weekly reading coach who simply stated, “You don’t need my help. Look at how well you read.” Affirmation makes all the difference. Finally, someone saw that when I felt comfortable my learning “issues” went away. Literacy in all its forms is a long endurance test and I am up for and fascinated by the challenge.
I Write to Make Sense of the World
Over the years, I’ve literally written myself into existence. Were it not for trips to the library, an endless stream of movies and television, and the beauty of music, I would have had nowhere to turn during an especially angst ridden adolescence fueled by an ongoing family crisis. Journaling kept me afloat when there was nobody and nothing else to turn to. Writing is the process of becoming, and for its redemptive qualities I remain forever grateful.
I Write Because So Many Things Frustrate Me or just Plain Piss Me Off
Writing is the way I quell that dissatisfaction with the world and channel those feeling into more productive endeavors. Writing is one way to have a voice since I am not the best speaker in the world and am the type who makes an art out of not drawing attention to myself at social events. Sentences can be crafted and the rhetoric behind messages honed in a way that my speech cannot. The approaches that can be taken with the written world are limitless. That endless potential appeals to my creativity.
I Write Because I Can
Writing is my talent. The one thing I’ve always wanted to succeed at, but never gave myself permission to really try. I was ready to take on the world in all those graduate and undergraduate writing workshops. Then a teaching career happened. Then my art teacher friend proposed starting a monthly writing group with another co-worker. That was my way back in.
Often, my writing process does not even begin with words. Images can grab hold and haunt my mind for years. Then my brain goes to work and starts to imagine what stories I can spin from those images. I write because I must. I write in order to feel whole again and to give back a bit of myself to the world.
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That its very deep Jeri, but it is great that you worked this all out. I tend to just write, and then its a struggle figuring out why I wrote what I wrote. I have determined that one of the reasons I write is to bring back a world in which I once lived to experience it again in all its details. But I “tweak it” and bring it up to the speed of modern times.
It might be said that I tend to overthink things and thus impede my own progress. And yet we all keep writing no matter the many approaches that lead us down that alluring (and often frustrating) road.
Fabulous post Jeri. There are so many different reasons to write and it sounds like its been very therapeutic as well as showing your determination. Well done for keeping at it and thank goodness as your readers who get the benefit too. You’re an inspiration. Thank you:-)
Those are good reasons indeed… And the way you present them tend to exalt the value of the writing process… A sort of experience that go beyond words… Best wishes, dear Jeri! Aquileana 😀
Aqui, there is so much value into truly exalting any process and really exploring its implications. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I love to do just that!
Think I started writing to get my thoughts and ideas in a tangible form where I could examine them more carefully. I’ve written for fun to dump my stories on paper, for research to reinforce my thoughts, and sometimes just to feel the pen gliding across the paper (I’m a part-time doodler, too). I’ve gotten to the point now where I write because I have to. When I don’t, I feel incomplete. I get frustrated easier. Finishing a writing project, no matter how small, makes me happy.
Marty, interesting that you state you like to feel your pen gliding across the paper and that you are a doodler. As a left-handed person, my handwriting leaves a lot to be desired plus I never liked how my hand drags across the paper and picks up ink or pencil smudges in the process. Typing has always suited me. We all find what suits us 🙂
Love this, ” Writing is one way to have a voice since I am not the best speaker in the world and am the type who makes an art out of not drawing attention to myself at social events. Sentences can be crafted and the rhetoric behind messages honed in a way that my speech cannot.” So beautifully stated! I’m not a great speaker unless I have hours and hours of practice prior to a presentation. In writing, we are given that time to hone and change and re-read and re-write. Ah, I love writing!
RoseMary, I’m always better when I can shape my thoughts via writing, but teaching really has helped me get better at speaking. I’ve also learned to incorporate a certain level of humor when I trip over words. It happens to all of us. I’m not of the teacher-must-be-perfect camp at all.