Why do I write?

For me, writing has always been a way to figure out my thoughts. Much like Joan Didion explains in Why I Write when she says, "Let me tell you one thing about why writers write: had I known the answer to any of these questions I would never had needed to write a novel," most of my writings produce an end result or idea that I was not even close to contemplating.

Especially when it comes to my thoughts on deeper, more meaningful matters, writing is the easiest place for me to start. I like to gather my thoughts on paper, and it is often in that process of gathering that I uncover beliefs and opinions that I did not even recognize within myself. There is something about the way writing allows you to uncover and organize your thoughts that frees me from my own lethargy in discovering what's inside my heart.

So often, my writings are just for myself, to organize my thoughts so I can then verbally articulate if need be to others. But sometimes, my writings are advocating for something I believe in, and those writings I am happy to share with others.

I know many people will find this crazy, but besides being able to process my thoughts, my favorite aspect of writing is the grammar. To me, grammar makes sense, and it adds a finite structure that is not easily found in day-to-day life. And, like Didion says, "All I know about grammar is its infinite power. To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence, as definitely and inflexibly as the position of a camera alters the meaning of the object photographed." Pristine grammar makes writing an object of its own, standing on the structure and security of rules created years ago, but each aspect of grammar takes on a different meaning as the individual writer chooses.

For me, writing is an outlet, a hobby, and a means to advocate for that which I believe.