Why the Heck Do You Even Write?
A little introspection and a big invitation for you to share your story
This is the question I am asking myself as I go from my hostel room to the library. What a brilliant topic to muse on, right?
That too on Valentine’s Day. Awesome then! Here’s what I did the previous Valentine’s Day: getting myself vaccinated (read the full post if you want to).
Anyway, on my way to the library I was as excited as I was fearful about finding the answer to this question.
What if I am writing without any purpose?
Am I doing this by heart or just forcing it on myself?
What if it’s all for views and there’s nothing more to it for me than that?
These questions got a hold of my mind and I wasn’t able to think straight and focus on the task at hand.
To relieve my mind a little, I opened a new draft and punched the title into it. “I’ll write about it, okay?” I tried to convince it.
And there I found my answer. Maybe just a fraction of it. But that’s better than nothing, right?
I write to express.
This may come out as yet another cliché every tenth writer is punching out. Maybe it is. But on a deeper level I know why it stands true for me.
I am an ambivert, I think. I talk a lot, but on selected topics, with a selected group of people.
I can’t even think about starting a conversation where I go on topics as far and wide as I write about.
From learning design to writing poems to cold-emailing to declining a paid promotion to obsessing over a single book to learning to touch-type to trying to think about most of the things with the help of mental models to what life and love is…
I don’t think I talk much about them in my ‘offline’ life. That’s why I write.
To let the other half of me out. It’s literally like therapy.
Anne Frank wrote in her book, The Diary of a Young Girl, “Paper has more patience than people.” Those words felt so true that they have stayed in my head ever since.
It’s simply better to talk to someone who’s interested in listening to what you’ve gotta say, and where you can effortlessly reciprocate the same behaviour for them.
That’s why I write on Medium. That’s why I thought of bringing this publication — SERENDIPITY — back. I want it to be a small corner where I can write my heart out.
This is like the power supply which gives me energy to explore my other interests, assuring a relaxing place to find solace whenever I might need it.
That’s half of the story — writing stories on topics I don’t talk about as often, if not never.
The other half is to share things I am learning.
Lately I am feeling enthusiastic about no-code and building digital products. Trying different tools and trying to leverage it has also caught my fancy.
How interesting is it to try ChatGPT and learn about what the heck is this ‘paperclip maximizer’? It’s scary, nevertheless we can’t deny the world is changing faster than most of us will be able to catch up with it, all thanks to technology.
As writers, it becomes important to be updated on topics that matter. Be it about a chatbot or leveraging AI in your writing. We can all learn a lot from these advancements.
Let’s try to make sense of it all.
Writing feels like a play to me. I enjoy my time writing in one corner of the silent library with headphones tucked into my ears and the lo-fi music playlist by Sean Kernan playing in the background. Just love it!
As weird as it may sound to my friends — who likes punching keys to write on a blank white space? — it’s true.
Going on a journey to explore why the heck I even bother writing was exciting. Bother may not be the best word, by the way
So, here’s the summary I want myself to make a note of:
I write to share things I would rarely talk about in real life and about.
I write to share cool things, journeys, and insights I am learning & experiencing along the way.
I write to make sense of it all.
I would love to read your article/comment talking a little about what’s the why of your digital writing. Let’s share our journeys — because, after all, it’s way more important than the destination we might arrive at someday. Cheers to that too!
Tagging some of the writers I love to read and I am way too curious to hear their stories: Jasmine Abriel, Dr. Preeti Singh, Fatunla Samuel, Nadine Hosny, Nicole Dake, Fifi Leigh, Rachel Wickremasinghe, Jessica Wolf, Lennon Campbell, Supritha Kamalanathan, Sienna Krieg, Ami Soule, Vanessa H., Billie Mall ❤️, and Megan Llorente
