I am not sure if everyone would find this an interesting topic, but it’s a question that pops up quite regularly. I would therefore also guess that some people never read my previous Bloggings about having an aunt (role-model) who was a journalist…. How I loved to read her work as child! And still do.
Hanlie* wrote regular articles for the “Rooi Rose” at that time. Each and every of her articles and publications were stacked in the bedroom book shelves. I was not able to stop reading, even by threat of torture or death.
Visiting grand-ma’s house during holidays as child…. reading way past bedtime under the bed by torch or candle light (so obviously I have a passion towards reading as well)….
I love books. Books are narratives (stories). And narratives, simply put, are stories people live in.
Eventually, later on in life, I also studied Journalism. And now… I still enjoy writing. There’s a lot of questions to address, a lot of topics, some controversial, some simply for fun or enjoyment. What’s not exciting, about writing about life? (Granted, if I had artistic abilities, I probably would have painted and after death, became famous – such as Vincent van Gogh).
I would love to write a Harry Potter someday, or a Stephan King, or a Terry Pratchett… not to mention another Twilight. Unfortunately I don’t have sufficient imagination or talent, so I have to stick to topics I know a little bit about.
So just because I write or love writing, unfortunately, doesn’t necessarily mean I am good at it (although I try to be factual at least and to not bore people to death).
But the satisfaction of “teaching” is also, almost as wonderful (psycho-education) as the process itself … And what is the use of a Website if the Bloggings don’t provide information, address burning issues, or provide self-help along the way (which is one of the purposes of this Site after all)?
Similar to other writers, I also have a need to work things out by way of words. I was never the type of learner who could work out things by “hearing” things only. As student, I needed to make long and complicated summaries (until I discovered brain mapping). So, I write to make sense of things. Especially when I “examine things”. Writing helps me to think more clearly. Even when writing about one thing while thinking about something totally different.
So obviously, money is not the reason I write (I wish).
I write because I need to. I write because it’s part of my personality, my being. I write because sometimes if I don’t, I stress!
Writing is therapeutic (why else would therapists regularly recommend patients to keep Journals?) When I get upset, I write. When I get excited, I write (thankfully not everything is published on the Blog).
Writing helps me to express myself, to make sense of things. Therefore, to discover meaning.
“I write because I want to find something out. I write in order to learn something that I didn't know before I wrote it.” (Laurel Richardson, Fields of Play: Constructing an Academic Life. Rutgers University Press, 1997)
I write to reach people. I write because I want to share information. I write to leave a legacy. Let’s face it, long after everyone is dead and buried, the written word will survive (Well, hopefully. Right now it seems as the written word increasingly, is floating on some “Cloud” with less actual books to read. Presumably Internet will survive long after us).
Maybe then writing is self-centered as well.
Well, so is survival…
Writing is not always easy. At times it is painful. Too often, it is damn hard work. Heck, writing ‘eats’ time from ‘life out there’ as well. And too regularly, you also find yourself afterwards, with the right words in the wrong place or time and space. Or worse.
So basically, I [probably most writers] write because it helps us stay breathing and fulfill our purpose in life.
We also write because we offer narratives….stories… life scripts….
And because narratives are stories and life scripts, we also offer alternatives in-between: people have the power to change the narratives they don’t like (Ever read a Stephan King properly? Just check all the alternatives offered!)
I don’t know …what is your take on Writing?
----
*Hanlie Swanepoel Vornberg.
http://perskor.blogspot.com/2014/11/stukkies-en-brokkies-uit-hanlie-se.html
Hanlie* wrote regular articles for the “Rooi Rose” at that time. Each and every of her articles and publications were stacked in the bedroom book shelves. I was not able to stop reading, even by threat of torture or death.
Visiting grand-ma’s house during holidays as child…. reading way past bedtime under the bed by torch or candle light (so obviously I have a passion towards reading as well)….
I love books. Books are narratives (stories). And narratives, simply put, are stories people live in.
Eventually, later on in life, I also studied Journalism. And now… I still enjoy writing. There’s a lot of questions to address, a lot of topics, some controversial, some simply for fun or enjoyment. What’s not exciting, about writing about life? (Granted, if I had artistic abilities, I probably would have painted and after death, became famous – such as Vincent van Gogh).
I would love to write a Harry Potter someday, or a Stephan King, or a Terry Pratchett… not to mention another Twilight. Unfortunately I don’t have sufficient imagination or talent, so I have to stick to topics I know a little bit about.
So just because I write or love writing, unfortunately, doesn’t necessarily mean I am good at it (although I try to be factual at least and to not bore people to death).
But the satisfaction of “teaching” is also, almost as wonderful (psycho-education) as the process itself … And what is the use of a Website if the Bloggings don’t provide information, address burning issues, or provide self-help along the way (which is one of the purposes of this Site after all)?
Similar to other writers, I also have a need to work things out by way of words. I was never the type of learner who could work out things by “hearing” things only. As student, I needed to make long and complicated summaries (until I discovered brain mapping). So, I write to make sense of things. Especially when I “examine things”. Writing helps me to think more clearly. Even when writing about one thing while thinking about something totally different.
So obviously, money is not the reason I write (I wish).
I write because I need to. I write because it’s part of my personality, my being. I write because sometimes if I don’t, I stress!
Writing is therapeutic (why else would therapists regularly recommend patients to keep Journals?) When I get upset, I write. When I get excited, I write (thankfully not everything is published on the Blog).
Writing helps me to express myself, to make sense of things. Therefore, to discover meaning.
“I write because I want to find something out. I write in order to learn something that I didn't know before I wrote it.” (Laurel Richardson, Fields of Play: Constructing an Academic Life. Rutgers University Press, 1997)
I write to reach people. I write because I want to share information. I write to leave a legacy. Let’s face it, long after everyone is dead and buried, the written word will survive (Well, hopefully. Right now it seems as the written word increasingly, is floating on some “Cloud” with less actual books to read. Presumably Internet will survive long after us).
Maybe then writing is self-centered as well.
Well, so is survival…
Writing is not always easy. At times it is painful. Too often, it is damn hard work. Heck, writing ‘eats’ time from ‘life out there’ as well. And too regularly, you also find yourself afterwards, with the right words in the wrong place or time and space. Or worse.
So basically, I [probably most writers] write because it helps us stay breathing and fulfill our purpose in life.
We also write because we offer narratives….stories… life scripts….
And because narratives are stories and life scripts, we also offer alternatives in-between: people have the power to change the narratives they don’t like (Ever read a Stephan King properly? Just check all the alternatives offered!)
I don’t know …what is your take on Writing?
----
*Hanlie Swanepoel Vornberg.
http://perskor.blogspot.com/2014/11/stukkies-en-brokkies-uit-hanlie-se.html
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