Monday, January 24, 2011

Why do I feel compelled to write?

At the Writer's Studio, we discuss our writing goals, as well as strategies for achieving them. For me, the question that keeps coming up is why do I write?

If I didn't write, I would have so much more leisure time. I could read and walk and swim and knit and garden go to the theatre and see more films. But I just can't live without writing. I've tried.

What do I want from my writing? I've pondered this question many times. The answer I keep coming up with is that there's a part of me that knows that I am supposed to write. But what does this mean?

I think it means I believe in a symmetrical and coherent universe. If I have the need to tell a certain story, then somewhere, someone wants or needs to read that story. And so I can never rest until I unearth it, tell it how it wants to be told.

This is what I hope for when writing. First, that when I read back after time passes, I want to be flooded with knowing. Confident that I've captured the story that called me to write it.

Also, I hope that when my story goes out into the world, someone reading it will be flooded with memory, with recognition. Maybe tears or laughter too, but mostly just the mysterious and profound solace that comes from immersing oneself in a good story well-told.

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