Why Write?

Do you know why writers write? Have you wondered why so many people have sit down at their desks or in front of their computers waiting for the words to come? Are these writers addicted to words? You can see that many writers have catalogued the reasons why they write. You can see that one reason why people give form to their thoughts must be to communicate with like-minded people, who can really understand what the writer is saying. As you know, all communication intends to bridge barriers of understanding between people caused by various factors like personality, intelligence, social and cultural contexts. Yet while reading great writers you can see that there exists a quality in their writing which transcends time, space, age, culture and gender. In such cases the underlying humanity gives flavour to their words, which ring true throughout the ages. For these writers, writing is a way of attaining immortality. Therefore you can conclude that the basic reason for writing is the need for self-expression. 

For some however, it is a way of living, a way of giving sense to haphazard reality which drives them mad. Writing helps you achieve a sense of control over your own thoughts. Writing helps to shape memories and preserve them. This is one reason that people write diaries. It fulfils the human need to communicate. For some people it is an addiction. It makes people feel powerful to think that they are in charge of their lives. In the case of outcastes from society they feel strong and powerful while they write. The victim mentality is replaced by a strong personality. This is often related to finding a voice in writing. You can develop your writing voice only by writing more and more. The more you work at your style the stronger your voice becomes. The personality that emerges is strong and the voice clear and lucid. It dissolves some contradictions in the personality and therefore can be treated as a therapy. 

You can see that all writers are in a process of evolution. The style evolves over a period of time. Their style emerges from a drizzle developing into a heavy shower. The flow of ideas and associations of thoughts are unique for different people. Though writers are accused of living a life according to their own rules, you can see that it is the creative and evolutionary spirit that distinguishes them from others. For the Victorians, a writer was a torch or leading light. I feel that a writer absorbs into the self the temper and spirit of the times yet is driven by the life-spirit. 

Whatever may be the reason to write, you can see that writing is curative to the spirit. It gives you a sense of power. A novelist is God while writing. He decides the fate of his characters and knows the present, future and past. So ultimately to write is to be God in your own world of ideas- omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent.