Why do we write?

I believe we all write, in the end, because we are forced to. I get ideas in my head, I imagine them, and unless I write them down, they swirl through like a vortex. There is no escape from it should it build up. All my thoughts go to that direction, and I can think of nothing else but the Story building pressure inside.

At the same time, as I have continued writing, I find that I now do it also out of a sense of the Greater Good and Duty. It may sound weird, but like my signature says Imagination does Rule the World. It inspires armies, and culture, and change or stability. Imagination is Propaganda. It is Marketing. It is Simulating. It is Theorizing. It is Inspiring an Army, or Team, or Company. It is thinking of that next invention before anyone else.

I read long ago, that one of the advantages of humans over other animals is our imagination. We can imagine how something we do - a hunt, a retreat, a migration, a solution - can end up over and over again, whereas other animals have to use trial and error. Trial and error can have expensive, and deadly lessons, whereas imagination allows us to replay a scenario over and over at little to no cost.

By being a writer, I help guide and lead people's imaginations. I can help inspire people. And with the fun, and necessity of it - that gives me a sense of purpose and meaning on top. One of my favorite Philosophers and Literary Critics, Christopher Caudwell ( a man who left a rich family to live with working class people, wrote dime-store detective novels for a living, and died fighting the fascists in Spain, covering his men's retreat) wrote that while science may tell men what is reality, artists can show people what reality could be and should be. That kind of power, that kind of magic, gift, talent, it should never be wasted.

The more I think about this question, the more it gives me anxiety.

I write because I've always enjoyed sharing stories. It serves as an outlet for my imagination and creativity. Its one thing to have talent for sharing a story and whole other to actually get it down on paper in a manner that makes sense and draws a reader in. Bit by bit I improve and feed off the favorable and constructive feedback. I know I'm not an expert at it but feel driven to write the best story possible and leave a legacy behind that people might enjoy.

Love the answers of telling one's own story instead of performing someone else's. That's true.

I performed in community theater when I was younger, and I've been a teacher, so I can operate in front of a crowd, but there's always anxiety from the experience. So Siri's comment about introversion also rings true.

I tried to learn to play piano and guitar when I was younger too, but both were more work than I was willing to give. Maybe I don't have the ear?

Anyway, I settled on writing after leaving scientific research because during the years I was in carbon cycling research, people asked why scientists couldn't make the science of climate change more accessible to non-sciencey folks. And what could people do as individuals to stop climate change? I heard the panic in people's voices as they wanted to know what 'the answer' is to this problem, if they're at fault, if we're all at fault, and how the heck are we going to turn this burning ship around.

I decided more research (mine, anyway) wasn't needed for the 'climate debate,' but stories might help. Writing has a low carbon footprint. I left my job, which had a larger carbon footprint.

It wasn't easy to change from research scientist to writer, and everything I've learned points to difficulties in establishing oneself in fiction too--I have no idea how many people will ever read anything I write, or if it will matter, but in essence I've always believed that instead of asking "What can I do?" hoping for someone to answer, one should "Do what one can."

That's why I write. It's something I can do, it has a low carbon footprint, I hope it helps at least one person see their relationship to and with Earth a little more clearly.

The world is a heartless place, with many wonderful people within. The weather doesn't care about your feelings, nor the stone your thoughts. And the time-tested way for humans to share content apart from personal interaction? The written word.

Writing is how we've transferred knowledge across generations, ignoring the plastic nature of memory and instead sticking to documents. And when we read, we learn, whether we intend to or not. So, even if we only write comedy and trash, our writing teaches anyone who reads it, much like what we take in teaches us.

As I've gotten older and more socially isolated, I've turned to reading and writing as a good way to get my knowledge exchange.

Writing is one of the activities I use to fill the void of free time I have. I also write music, play video games, and watch TV and movies to remedy my boredom. As for why I chose writing to occupy myself, I randomly decided to write a screenplay for a class project when I was a child. I had so much fun that I still write today.

Entertaining people with stories is something very special. I'll never stop doing it.

rgroberts said:

Because there are stories that want out of my brain.

Click to expand...

This exactly.