The Why
I write for the challenge.
I’ve been writing for what seems like my whole life: notes, essays, short stories, journals, poems, articles, blogs, scripts and even a brief go at a novel (My middle school friends and I quickly gave up on that endeavor though). I’ve written so much that by now you’d think that it would come naturally to me. Well you would be VERY wrong. Writing isn’t easy, its one of the only things that can frustrate me into a manic state of wanting to chuck my computer against the wall and scream. Now that might be a tad dramatic, but don’t fault me for trying to paint a picture of my struggles with a keyboard. There’s something about articulating my thoughts in in a captivating way, that has always left me stumped. Why is it, that telling a story through filmmaking and photography comes so naturally to me but the second I want to put it into words I’m left speechless; grasping for a spark of creativity?
“Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go.”
Writing is like trudging through snow; it’s slow and arduous. Its constantly searching for the right words, crossing things out, backtracking and finally saying “Well crap I might as well just start over.” Writing is a struggle from start to finish, but maybe that’s how its suppose to be. With photography, filmmaking, and really any visual art you are able to show people how you see the world, but with writing, you are showing people how you think about the world. You are bearing your thoughts to the world on a piece of paper. Now that is downright terrifying.
I’m driven to write because it challenges me. It's never easy; I have to struggle and claw just to find the right words to create something worth turning in (I’m a bit of a perfectionist if you couldn’t tell). However, that frustration is worth it because it forces me to push past my comfort zone and open up new avenues of creativity. Since I enjoy challenging myself I never found a set style of writing; its fluid and ever-changing. Like most things my writing adapts to the subject matter, my mood, or if I just happen to read something and like the style. When I start a piece I never know how it's going to end up or where. Doctorow said it best, “Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go.” When I started this blog I didn’t think I’d end up discussing the philosophy of why we write but here we are. In the end, I think that we all have our own reasons for writing. However, I think that for those of us that are crazy enough to come back voluntarily, and are willing to survive the rage-inducing episodes, must like the challenge too.