Six Whys of Writing
You pick a pen, grab a piece of paper and scribble…or, nowadays,
turn on your PC, go to MSWord, exhaust your fingers on the
keyboard…and you’re done…instant article! That easy, and you’re
an instant celebrity.
It has been made clear that everybody can write. Why not? It’s
as basic as reading. Once you’ve mastered the alphabet, able to
distinguish plural from singular and loaded your cerebral bank
with tons of vocabulary, you’re off to a good start.
Much has been written on the how-to of writing – from poetry to
essays to novels – but only less on the why side of writing.
Allow me to blab on that for a change.
Why write?
A semester of essay writing classes and four years of enduring
journalism teachers who were fond of dumping projects with tight
deadlines helped me come up with the reasons for writing.
Reason #1 Power
Writing is a good weapon in swaying opinions, influencing
people’s mindset and way of living and in fighting for causes
believed in.
Being a writer, you can bask in the glow of glamour. You become
a celebrity but most of all a leader.
Reason #2 Expression
Other than being a weapon of might, writing is a good outlet for
your pent-up emotions. Also, it allows the graceful or direct
presentation of opinions and know-how.
Reason #3 Attention
You can use writing to bring attention to an issue you deem
important or to things unheard of, which you want to share. As
for my case, the scribbled words became my voice.
Through writing, you can reach a great number of readers from
all walks of life without exhausting your vocal chords.
Reason #4 Entertainment
You can write for people’s delight, and even for your own
entertainment when you’ve got nothing else to do.
Reason #5 Immortality
You can be immortalized through people’s memory; the written
works you leave behind would remind them of you and your ideals.
Reason #6 It’s a Write-Or-Starve Situation
It’s your job. No escape. Write or be fired.
Reason #7 For Others
Most of all, write for others, not only for your self. Use
writing to reach out to someone who feels alone and
misunderstood, and who needs all the comfort in the world. Use
writing to teach a lesson. My mentors had made that perfectly
clear to me.
Before, I was merely satisfied with creating a world of my own.
I enjoyed playing god. However, I soon realized that to be a
better writer, I must not write merely for myself.
As a writer, you have readers whom you communicate a world of
ideas, and who are affected by what you write. Don’t only think
of yourself. By becoming a writer, you have taken a
responsibility to the society. You are molding and reshaping
somebody’s persona.
As a writer, you move readers to do something. Lead them to the
light; lead them to the truth. They deserve nothing less.
One of my mentors used to read this to me: A writer without a
sense of responsibility is no better than the leader who goes on
with his work without regard for the welfare of those he leads.
I have failed to remember the writer from whom those wonderful
words came, but they are words that are not easy to forget.