Why I Write

Why I Write...Intro: We had to write an essay telling why we write, and while I could come up with the standard answers, to express myself, etc. I had never really given it much thought until this assignment. I felt like I found myself as a writer through this assignment.Writing to me is a type of release, a way to let go of feelings, thoughts, and frustrations I may feel with things going on in my life at the time. To me it is a safe expression of my thoughts, disguised in fiction. Giving me a chance to express my views uninterrupted, and completely. I can question ways of life, or someone’s actions, without intruding on them, and without them interrupting me. I can explore aspects of life that are foreign to me. Discover more about myself through how I see things in my writing. Through writing we leave our mark in life, whether it is just for the enjoyment of our family and friends to pass around, or perhaps we may be skilled enough to be published for a much larger audience, who familiarize themselves and can relate to our writing.I can then go back and recall how I felt with each sample of writing. Reading what I have written helps me examine different feelings without always acting on those emotions. That is one of the reasons we read other writers stories, so we can learn form their experiences without having to go through it our self. Through writing we don’t have to have gone through the life as a woman in Jane Austen’s time. We can read about how she felt as she expressed it in her writings. We don’t have to be a detective to try to solve a murder. We can empathize with the loss of a loved one through someone’s writing before we have to experience it for oneself. We can learn so much about our self from what we read. What we choose to read, and how we respond is what enhances our personality. In the same way that knowing what a person reads gives you a little bit of an insight into who that person may be. For example, someone who is a great Emily Bronte fan gives you an idea of a romantic, classic person. While an eager Stephen King fan creates an image of a completely different person. Literature tells a story, not only in itself, but through who reads it, and how we study it. We could study Jane Austen for how it still applies in today’s society, or as a clue into life in the eighteenth century woman. We still study Shakespeare for a variety of reasons, for his language skills, for his diversity, able to create tragic plays, as well as comedic. But I think one think we admire all these writers for is their longevity, the way they have made a mark in the world. While writing is major form of creative expression, deep down every writer would love a chance to leave behind something of their creative work.In learning to improve my writing, I hope to be able to make it not only bearable for those I ask to read it, but enjoyable. I love being able to express my thoughts not only well but in a way that makes your eye eager to move across the page, and swallowing the words with ease, not struggling to digest their meaning. I think while improving your writing you are able to interpret what you read with a much greater ease and understanding. In taking a fiction writing class, I have already noticed that improvement. You can see in your works where you need to improve, as well as what should be left unchanged. You are able to translate your thoughts onto the paper into a work of art. I have always loved the beauty of carefully chosen words as they decorate the page, inviting one into the writers mind.I think the biggest part of being a writer is the willingness. The willingness to open up that which is so personal, on many levels, to a larger audience. To be able push the boundaries of writing and leave the mark of your words, and beliefs on those blank and inviting pages is one of the most terrifying ideas to me. You open yourself up to criticism and put-downs that even the toughest of people wouldn’t be able to stand up to. And yet we as writers are up to the challenge, and face it bravely. Writers have throughout time have had to overcome rejection after rejection. Because rarely can someone simply happen to be good at writing. I think it takes practice, and perseverance to become a great writer, why should it be any different from any other career?The purpose of great literature is to explore the use of language to communicate ones thoughts and views on a subject. So I write as a form of communicating my views. I write to express my thoughts. I write as a release, a release of emotions that seem to build up, to the point that it is too much to keep it in, and to speak them would simply jumble them into a point of confusion. Writing gives me the opportunity to separate my thoughts before communicating them to my readers.