Why We Write – Making Connections With Ourselves and With Each Other

I didn’t get to blog yesterday – life got in the way, but I did get to write a few morning pages and start working on my writing goals for 2013.

Yesterday my writing buddy Monique Mcdonell posted an excellent blog about writing goals and making sure we have them for the right reasons. You can see Monique’s blog post here: http://tinyurl.com/abqbodk

It got me thinking about why we actually right. Of course this is a subject that has been written about many times before and the answer to the question is different for everyone. Perhaps you have a particular story to tell, want to record your life in words for family members, love the challenge of starting with a blank page and trying to create something out of nothing, or perhaps, like me, you crave the escape form the real world that writing brings, or as Alan Watt more aptly descibed it 2 days ago in The Huffington Post as “losing ourselves in our work by shedding our ego for a deeper connection to our humanity”.

Watt continues: Why we write is more important than what we write because our reason for writing influences the content of our work. It is important to remember that we don’t have to do this. The world is not in a rush for more books. There are more great works of fiction, poetry, memoir, history and pumpkin soup recipes than we will ever have time to consume.

(Read the full article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-watt/why-we-write_b_2411000.html)

Essentially we write to express ourselves, to make sense of our world – both inner and outer – and to seek some form of connection both with ourselves and with others who may at some point read our work. At the initial stage of writing, when our thoughts are forming themselves into words, however inappropriate they may be or how frustrating the process can become, we must write for ourselves. We can mould our experiences, feelings and thoughts into some form that goes at least part way to defining our unique take on the world and out part in it. If at some point we are brave enough to share those wordswe create a connection with someone else. We share our humanity.

This morning I was brought to tears by a message on my facebook author page from a reader. Actually more of a non-reader. He picked up my book because of the cover and the blurb and started reading on the bus on his way home from work. he’s enjoying the book and finds a lot in it he can relate to. But the comment that moved me the most was this: …your book speaks volumes to me and I guess I want to thank you as well. I don’t know what for exactly, I haven’t even finished the book but you made me fall in love with books and this book really connects with me. For me, this is the highest compliment a writer can receive, inspiring someone to love books. The icing on an already scrumptious cake.

This month as you write your words daily, every other day, or even weekly, remember that you write for yourself first and others second. Allow yourself the freedom to explore what it is for you to be alive right her, right now, in whatever form seems to work. In doing so you’ll be expressing the core of who you truly are. If, down the track, others read your words and are moved by them – and even if they’re not – that’s an added bonus.

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Getting Creative

I’m a big fan of Sarah Wilson’s column in the Sunday Life magazine each week (in The Sun Herald). Every week Sarah investigates how to make life more meaningful and shares her discoveries with readers.

This week she interviewed Hugh Mackay, social researcher and author of What makes us Tick? The Ten Desires that Drive Us. In response to Sarah’s question, “What makes life better?” Mackay’s response was “Being creative. and often.”

Here’s a little more of what he had to say: “When I’ve spoken to people who write or paint, they say they don’t know where the idea came from … it just emerged …what emerges is always revealing …Reading or looking at art, but writing or painting even more so, thaw out the layers of facade and rigid thinking and reveal what we’re truly about – the ‘real’ us.”

Whether we’re journalling, writing fiction or non-fiction we write at our best when those layers are peeled away and the writing is raw and honest. It’s this connection to our true selves that draws us back to the writing, or whatever other creative pursuit we enjoy, and it’s the same honesty and authenticity that draws readers to turn the page and keep on reading. Through our writing we see ourselves and the world around us in new and often unexpected ways and we reflect that perspective in our stories, poems, articles – whatever form we choose to write.

Like so many of us though, Mackay often resists creative options. To get himself going he walks (which gives him space) and belongs to a choir (which gives him a structure and commitment).

Finding ways to battle the resistance to be creative, to pursue our creative dreams despite the pressures on our time and the demands our jobs, families and life in general places on us, is no mean feat. We all need to find ways to avoid avoidance, to get to the desk, pick up the pen and write. It could mean setting a “creativity” schedule, as uncreative as that sounds, making a “date” with a writing buddy or simply sitting down and doing it. 

When we do get to the writing, we may produce rubbish or we could create pure magic, but either way we’re connecting with the very deepest truest part of ourselves. And that’s reason enough to write.

To read the whole article, or more of Sarah’s inspiration, go to www.sarahwilson.com.au

To find out more about Hugh Mackay go to www.hughmackay.com.au

What creative activities – writing and others – do you enjoy and how do you deal with resistance?

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Why write?

In my Justwriters group tonight I sensed a distinct lack in motivation, especially from one member, who shall remain un-named (you know who you are!). It highlighted the fact that writing isn’t all fun and inspiration, sharing and connection – there’s a whole lot of frustration and confusion, isolation and despondency involved in the writing life too. Most of these negatives can be traced back to one or two factors: letting your writing routine slip and losing sight of why we write.

One of the dangers of not writing daily, or at least regularly is that you forget how much you enjoy doing the writing practice, the buzz you get from creating something from nothing and how much better you feel when you’ve actually written something, no matter how bad that first draft is. If you’re writing a longer piece, like a novel or memoir or even a short story, by not checking in with it daily you’re losing touch with what you’re writing about and you’re not entering the dream of your writing often enough to really immerse yourself in it. And the longer you stay away from it the harder is to re-connect with the writing.

A second danger is losing sight of why you are writing. If you forget that you write because you love to write, because it helps you escape, helps you develop your creativity, helps you make sense of the world you live in, helps you connect with others, both readers and fellow writers… need I go on?

You get idea. The main motivation for your writing, if you are going to continue to enjoy it, and to actually keep doing it, should be because it gives you all these things and more. Once money or fame become your prime motivators, writing will start to lose its attraction. very few people make a living from their writing and fewer still achieve fame and fortune. That’s not to say you shouldn’t aim for that if it’s what you really want, if it’s your dream. But keep the personal writing motivation at the forefront. if you do happen to make any money out of your writing that’s a bonus. In the meantime you’re developing a new skill, discovering things about yourself and others you never knew and  sharing your experiences with your writing buddies and your readers, enriching their lives in the process.

Like any art or pursuit, writing takes time, discipline, commitment and faith. You need to keep filling those pages, setting writing goals, sticking to that schedule and trusting that your writing is getting better and that it is a worthwhile way to spend your time.

When the why am I bothering to write blues hit, take ten minutes and make a list of all the reasons why you should keep writing . Post it somewhere where you can’t miss it – on the fridge  or an a noticeboard above your desk, or on your bathroom mirror. Then pull out a pen and paper and write something – anything!

I’ll leave you with this thought from Julia Cameron: Creativity is inspiration coupled with initiative. It is an act of faith, and, in that phrase, the word “act” looms as  large as the “faith” that it requires.

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