OPEN THREAD
Open Thread Highlights: Why We Write
Recently we asked: Why do you do this wild thing called writing? And wow, a lot of you chimed in to share why you write. The responses are so thoughtful and fascinating that it’s well worth reading all of them (over 100 as I compile this!), but here are excerpts of a handful that jumped out:
Jealousy, Jealousy
I started writing because I was jealous of writers. The way their words affected me had something to do with it, I’m assuming. Eventually, blogging became a lifestyle of sort and also the means to an end — making a living. It kept evolving from there. These days, aside from making money, I write to also make sense of the world around me. — Maliha
Inspired by reading
I’ve been an actor and storyteller my entire life, but I had never written anything until six months ago. Being a bookworm who relishes in the stories told by others, I was inspired to create how they do — through the written word! What an incredible journey this has been for me so far. — Lauren Osborn
It’s a lifeline
…if someone told me I was not allowed to write another word for the rest of my life, I think I might go insane. Writing is a lifeline for me. Although it can be a source of great discomfort, it’s also where I feel the most powerful — on the page. — Melissa Toldy
Writing is thinking
I originally started writing to keep my mind sharp. Just watching TV and listening to other people telling me stories wasn’t doing anything to improve me. I’d heard it said “writing is thinking” by many. So, I tried it. — Erik Brown
Refueling, reconnecting
My own writing refuels me, helps me reconnect with my own life, experience, and perspective. It reminds me that I, personally, still have something to say that’s worth saying. That I’m not exclusively the amanuensis of others. I write, first and foremost, for myself, with the welcome mat always laid out for others to join me. — Aimee Liu
Flow and friends
I write because it’s the only thing I do that brings flow state. Sometimes, anyway. Sometimes it’s just fixing the plumbing. As for why I’m HERE, I love writing on Medium because I feel more connected than ever before with readers. I like the conversational aspect. It’s why I’ve never really liked Instagram, it’s broadcast oriented: “Here is this AMAZING thing I did! But enough from me, what do YOU think of me???” Likewise, I’ve connected with some incredible writers here. I like the community of it. — L.L. Kirchner
Cheaper than therapy
I use writing as a tool to assist with emotional healing. I process therapy sessions in a journal and I use my therapy in what I write to reinforce what I learn. This is the ethos of my writing before and after I joined Medium. — Karen Wettstein
A vicious cycle
I began writing because I falsely assumed that I’d be good at it. Now, it’s mostly because if I stop, I’ll never be. — Bernie Robert
Writing heals (literally)
I discovered my love of writing after I suffered a severe traumatic brain injury. I could write about TBI, but I felt outside of my Injury, observing and writing. When I write, I am transported to another place and in that place I can focus, words flow and images are clear. — JoAnne Silver Jones
A sense of purpose
I write out of a sense of social obligation. I am 77 and my health doesn’t permit active participation like running for office. But I can make complex issues understandable. Like Modern Monetary Theory.
I write because it’s fun. Taking a complex issue and crafting a story to fit in the Medium style and format is an enjoyable challenge. I am learning so much from the process that I might go from being a decent write to a good one. — Russell Salsbury
To be heard
I write to allow myself to be heard. As a child, I was very quiet kid living amongst people who were all very loud, and everyone tried to talk over one another. It’s a normal part of my culture, and sometimes it can be difficult to state what I want to say as an introvert. So I write as a way of saying, “I’m here, I have ideas too!” — Hoang Samuelson
Process, not perfection
I write to guide myself and found journaling to be really effective. And, i am considering Medium as the bridge between my life as a soon-to-be author and where I stand today. But I’m going through this very thing at present. It’s a big thing for me. To press the first publish button. As if I’m going to be exposed. Like the disappointment from lack of perfectionism. However, i know. I know that I’ll get over with it. I’ll write it down and starts enjoying the process. It’s resistance. The inner critic. ☺ — K.T.K.
A letter to a future self
I don’t want to reread all of my writing (journals) yet I feel that one day I might not have the same ability to remember happenings and my response to happenings or how I processed through a tough time, an amazing travel adventure or details about a minute incident that actually meant a lot.
So…perhaps someday when I’m very old, perhaps isolated and/or alone I can revisit my past lives by re-reading my journals. — issa bair
Sharing a passion, building a brand
I started to write to market myself as a professional (and to use a term I don’t like, thought leadership). My first blog was on Medium and a professional one. Eventually this expanded to professional and football related content because I’m a football fan and simply cannot resist commentary on various topics. So today, I have 3 publications. 2 professional and one football. — Prateek Vasisht
It’s complicated
Months ago it would’ve been much easier to answer this. I wrote because I love it, but also because I wanted another income stream and a shot at virality and some level of readership. A part of me still wants these things, and I think I always will, but the incentive to hustle just isn’t as strong anymore.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’ve been finding it harder to convince myself why I should keep writing when I really don’t need to.
After stripping off all those tangible goals and motivations, here’s what I’m left with (it’s cheesy but I think I really do mean it):
I want to write because I truly believe it’s my gift. And you don’t waste your gift. You’re supposed to use it. And you use it up until you can’t anymore. — Ria Tagulinao
Because of Joan Didion
Now, when it comes to nonfiction writing, my biggest why is Joan Didion. I already knew that I wanted to become a journalist but I didn’t have the fuel to search things about it. When I purchased Joan’s “The White Album” and started to read it, I was mesmerized with such knowledge and elegance — I also watched her documentary on Netflix, that made my love for her grow even more. Joan made me happy with the idea of writing nonfiction. I think I write because I want to be her in some way, I don’t know. Writers are confused people, with lots of questions in their minds, that may or may not have an answer. — Jonathan Cabral
Self-knowledge
I know myself better because I write. I write because I’m an introvert with a constant inner narrator that is DYING to get out. Writing is a second home for me. — Maggie Kelly
Writing was a childhood friend
I was five when I moved from the District of Columbia to Georgetown, Guyana.
I went from television, snow, and my mom, to heat that was almost self-aware, clouds that looked like castles, and my grandparents…
I was alone for the first time, and somehow I knew I’d better not make a big deal of it. So I read. And read, and then read some more. Pretty soon, I could see I’d run out of the books I was allowed to read.
So I began writing stories inside the stories. Stuff like the secret agent has a mission he must achieve, to find out more, turn to page 78. Each time I read a book, I left a book inside the book. I’m not sure if I was thinking about why as I made the stories, those were just fun…
Pretty much, I’ve been putting words in a straight line ever since. — Michael B. Wharton
