Why I Write and Why I Need To

trE

It Is Air

Writing Tools. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt

When you step outside and breathe in the
world around you, do you not feel alive?
Living and breathing and embracing a new
day is a tangible gift we often fail to unwrap.
I love this present. I love its presence.

It would be easy for me to simply say, “Writing is the air I breathe” or “I can’t not write,” both would be true, their cliched existence notwithstanding, but there are other reasons why. I am a person who believes in expressing herself in the most honest way possible. Oftentimes, writing is the preferable method for me.

I have been in the deepest, darkest holes and have written my way out of them.

I have found, over the years, that words when harnessed tactfully and with the proper intention, can persuade, uplift, entice, coerce, engage, hurt, destroy, and magnify. We have to choose how we use them — why we’re using them.

Writing moves me toward positive outcomes. It pulls me out of dark spaces and shows me the way to those where the light shines. I have been in the deepest, darkest holes and have written my way out of them. This isn’t to say that everyone can do this, it is my testimony to you about what I have done.

A pad is my canvas. A pen is my brush. Words are the masterpiece I paint. The outcome is art. I can choose to be intense, shy, witty, actionable, lifeless, desirable, and so many other things in my writing. I design the beginning, middle, and ending. This is a freeing reality and I hope I never lose the ability to do this.

I need to write . . . My mind is a busy place. There are characters roaring loud enough to move me toward sharing their stories. There is no way of silencing them — they demand to be heard. My own voice stomps its feet occasionally, reminding me that if I think it, I should probably write it. After devoting time to the characters in my head and my own voice, I am often relieved.

And what a great release it is.

A pad is my canvas. A pen is my brush. Words are the masterpiece I paint. The outcome is art.

I find solace in writing — in making my thoughts known in a more public arena — unleashing them only when I deem the timing to be right. Just as one can escape within stories or a plot found in their favorite book, I can escape via writing.

I wave my writer’s wand and I can be a shift-shaper, a bodybuilder, a princess, The Vice President of the United States, or a violent wave landing ashore. I choose the setting. I set the tone. I maintain the props. This is my favorite world in which to live.

When I am writing, everything seems peaceful. Nothing is amiss. There is a divine pull that creeps in and within its grip is where I can be found. What better place is there for a creative who dabbles in literary pièces de résistance?

I choose the setting. I set the tone. I maintain the props.

At age forty-one, I still have it in me to share what words can do and have done and have done so since I was nine years old. At this point, I believe it is safe to say writing is definitely my air and I am grateful for every breath I take.

When you step outside and breathe in the
world around you, do you not feel alive?
Living and breathing and embracing a new
day is a tangible gift we often fail to unwrap.
I love this present. I love its presence.

This essay is in response to the C.R.Y. prompt, What’s Your Relationship With Writing? hosted by the one and only, Kern Carter via Medium.

21 thoughts on “Why I Write and Why I Need To”

  • I think this post is probably super relatable for most writers. I have always had a hard time expressing myself and writing has been the only way for me to truly put my thoughts out there.

    Liked by 2 people

  • I’ve followed you for some time and across venues. Your writings and your purpose for doing so are a giving truth. Your veracity, in my opinion, can’t be question. And that’s the reason for my question.

    Has the turn to the propagandist nature of the web tempered your desire to post your writings on the internet.

    And by propaganda , I don’t just mean the political nature of a collective undertaking.

    I strongly suggest, that after more than a decade of receiving an ends justifies the means method of composing missives, that a fair majority of even innocents have, to some degree, adopted and adapted the technique of a propagandist. From the run-of-the-mill Marketing influencers, to mommy bloggers, to the everyday Joe and Jane’s letting of a little steam, or just trying to make a point.

    You write;

    “Writing moves me toward positive outcomes. It pulls me out of dark spaces and shows me the way to those where the light shines. I have been in the deepest, darkest holes and have written my way out of them. This isn’t to say that everyone can do this, it is my testimony to you about what I have done.”

    That’s self-reflecting, life affirming, and appreciative of the many avenues available to any and all individual destination. Multiple choices.

    The propagandist method is; my way are the highway. A must product. The best, no, the only solution. And they do it under the guise of giving only binary choices. Life as either or, but no more. It’s this or that. When in reality the binaries presented are false choices and picked to elicit the writer’s preferred….”Exactly.”

    And that’s troubling for me. But even more concerning I don’t think they’re aware of the propagandist nature of their post. It’s not a political decision, it’s a missive method to reach only the like minded and garner “likes. And it works.

    Do you see any of this happening? And if so, has it changed the way you approach your writings to be posted on the WWW?

    Thanks
    And Regards

    Liked by 2 people

    • Hey, Doug! Thank you! And yes, I see it often on Medium and sometimes on WordPress as well. I’ve always lived the life of, “I’m going to do me, you do you.” I’m not in it for the trending factors and all the other follow-the-leader type that comes along with sharing on the internet these days. I just write. If someone feels it and connects with it, that’s enough for me–I’ve done my part and that’s the most important thing.

      I noticed that when one is vulnerable, authentic, and willing to share uninhibited, there’s staying power in that. I can only hope I’ll be able to continue to share without feeling pressed to push myself away from it all.

      Again, thank you so much for reading and for this comment too.

      Liked by 2 people

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