Why Do You Bother Writing?

IfI could get a dime for every time someone asked me this question, I wouldn’t have to slave away at my imagination’s mercy. Yes, I did say “slave”. Surprise. Not expecting that from someone who presumably “loves” to write, were you?

To answer this question truthfully, let’s start from the beginning. Mesopotamia. One of the current universally accepted ancient civilizations from which “true” writing emerged. Notice those quotations. Here, I’ll type it again without the quotations: true writing. What do I mean by that? Google up the history of writing. Or, if you’re too lazy, here’s a link to a Wikipedia article. Allow me to point out one particular sentence in that article that drew my attention.

“It is generally agreed that true writing of language (not only numbers) was independently conceived and developed in at least two ancient civilizations and possibly more.” (Wikipedia: History of Writing)

True writing of language, i.e., the birth of actual letters and symbols set to stand for certain things, brought about the “discovery” of an organized form of communicating with each other. If those ancient people had stuck with their minor systems of paintings or communicating orally, I imagine our world would have been much different right now.

Some people would argue that writing appeared way before the Mesopotamians came up with an organized system. Some people might even argue that writing came years after the Mesopotamians. That’s not important right now because it all boils down to what you think writing is. Sure, we have set definitions and all these sets of rules but we, as humans with an independent mind, also have the right to truly sit and think about something that means a lot to the majority of us.

As an amateur writer myself, I think of writing as something I use to channel my emotions through. I do like to think of myself as a good writer and several people have told me that they like my writing, but I always imagined that being a good writer meant that you had to be ready to write about anything, anytime. This posed a problem. No matter how hard I tried, ideas would only come to me if I had an imbalance of emotions. I would get ideas if I was overly excited, angry, sad, overjoyed or depressed. When I was in a normal state of emotions, the blank document would just be staring back at me, willing me to start typing. I would usually just sit staring it down until the battery ran off and the screen went blank. Sometimes I would force myself to write. Desperately, I would go over topics of the day and try to compose a piece but it never worked. No matter how many times I forced myself to, that piece never punched the spot. These times usually put me in a bleak mood. Feelings of hopelessness would clutter my brain. It was during these times that I would question my sworn hobby. Why did I write? What’s the use of going through so much trouble for something that didn’t give me satisfaction?

That’s when it hit me. Every time I had an idea for a story or an article, I wouldn’t be able to sit still until I transferred the idea into words on paper. That is why I love to write.

Writing, for me, was not enjoyable because of the hours of work I put into writing words on the paper; rather, it was enjoyable because I could let my trapped ideas and stories fly free from my mind and disturb someone else for a while.

Yes, there are people out there who actually enjoy the process of writing in itself. The feeling of touching the impressions your pen makes on the paper, that fury, and energy that comes with every idea; some people dig those. I certainly don’t. But that feeling that floods me after a moment of good writing? It’s indescribable. For me, it is beyond anything I can ever perceive.

And this leads us back to the ancients. They felt the need to communicate and share ideas with each other, which led them to use any means possible. So, I would argue that writing began way before Ancient Mesopotamia “invented” their alphabet. It began when humanity began and continues to develop based on time and tide. And it was invented, because of that need to release that bulk of ideas contained within the human mind. That is why we wrote then, and that is why we will continue to write for eternity. It is what makes us human.

So the next time someone asked me that question, I was ready. “Because my brain is too small for the great ideas within.” And always remember, whether you like it or not, you are a writer. Everybody is. Some of us are just paid better than others.