Topic of the month 1 ('Why I write')

Why I write.  Alan Maley

People often ask me why I write, what I get out of writing, what the point of it is.  The answer is complex, and ultimately unanswerable in general terms.  My reasons for writing are mine: there is no reason for them to apply to other people.  But here are five reasons to think about: 

1. Writing of all kinds, but particularly creative writing, helps me to give shape to the ‘booming, buzzing confusion' in my brain.  Our heads are full of racing thoughts and impressions all jostling for our attention.  Many of them are confused and fleeting.  We hop from one to another in a fever of distraction.  When I write, I find I can momentarily still the tumult, and bring some order and harmony to this unstructured, unruly torrent of activity in my brain.  Writing is ‘the still point of the turning world.'
2. Writing requires me to sharpen my observation of the world and everything in it.  In the bustle of everyday life, we cease to notice the world around us.   We are so preoccupied with the doings of our busy schedules that we forget how to pay attention - real attention - to what is around us.  Writing helps me to restore the sharpness of my senses, and rediscover the wonder in the ‘thinginess' of things, people, words, events.
3. When writing, I often find that I am discovering new and unexpected connections between things and ideas.  We live our lives through metaphors, and writing helps to refresh the wellsprings of metaphor.  Many of the things that bubble to the surface are the product of the unconscious or sub-conscious mind, others are memories and dreams, fragments of conversations, flashes of visual incidents.  These connections feed into the writing, but new connections also arise from the act of writing itself.
4. When I write creatively, I am forced to draw upon the whole range of language available to me. I stretch my language resources to their extreme limits.  I am constantly testing the fabric of the language that I am weaving to see whether its patterns fit my intentions, and whether it has the tensile strength to bear my messages. I may put familiar language to innovative uses or even coin new words or usages.  What this process helps me avoid are the tired and flaccid shorthand of much everyday usage.  It keeps my language fresh and growing.
5. The overall effect of writing in this way is to provoke a heightened state of alertness, a sense of being more alive, more aware of myself. of others and of the world around me.  I would not call this happiness - writing is a hard and sometimes painful pursuit - but I would rather feel fully alive like this than semi-comatose and compliant, which has become the default position for large parts of the population.  The fictional society depicted in Aldous Huxley's ‘Brave New World' has come perilously close to being realised.

Why I write (Tan Bee Tin)

I think my fascination with writing, in particular non-academic writing, started when I was studying in the UK. Being an international student studying in a foreign land, I encountered, like many others, many frustrating experiences. Most of my frustration was due to my inability to express what I felt spontaneously or due to my inability to ‘talk back' immediately at the moment of frustration. I would often go home, feeling frustrated and remembering later ‘that was what I should have said to that person, on that occasion, etc.'

In other words, I felt betrayed by words as they did not come to me when I needed them most. However, that frustration led me to a habit of writing things down, trying to capture words and expressions which I should have said, words that came to my mind only after the event was over. I started transforming them into various quotes and wrote them on post-it. My bedroom wall in Bognor Regis (a place where I lived during my PhD study) started being filled up with such messages written on post-it.

Nowadays, the main reason why I write (or why I do non-academic writing) is to escape from frustration, to turn a frustrating/negative experience into something amusing, positive and creative. It is very much like ‘recycling' .. where ‘wasted rubbish' which we are bombarded with in the modern globalised world is  turned into something precious and valuable. I do that through creative writing, recycling negative feelings into something positive or 'the occasional pearl' as Alan might call it.

Why I write (Leilani)

Words and ideas have always fascinated me. In my childhood, I loved reading stories from my father's collection of books in our home library. I took to heart the plotlines of these stories and they awoke in me a sense of possibility. They impressed upon me the need for self-expression for I found myself getting lost in a maze of jumbled thoughts. I pondered deeply from every page of florid prose and poetry I came to stumble upon in my desire to know more and learn more. To find clarity, I started to sit down and write as I articulated everything I felt and thought of from the stories I had read. My writing notebook became my best friend.

Since then, writing has allowed me the freedom to explore countless possibilities. I write as much as I read, and what I read influence my writings deeply. I write down every good moment I can remember, those simple pleasures of life like the countless summers of my childhood when the sun would scorch the earth that even the gentlest footstep on the dirt road would create a cloud of dust in its wake. When the rainy seasons came, I would listen intently to the pitter-patter of drops, the rhythmic murmur of water hitting our roof. Now, I find pleasure in retelling and writing what I feel, good or bad as I have become an enthusiastic onlooker, a keen observer of the mundane and the ordinary.

Writing creatively does not come easy though. Sometimes, the blank page would stare at me intently, taunting me. But almost always, in the quietness of early mornings, I listen to myself with a peaceful heart and an open mind, as words flow out. And the blank page is then filled with something beautiful again.

Why I write? (Vishnu Rai)  
 
Why do people climb Mt. Everest,  
Sometimes lose their lives in the test?  
Why does Adele sing, and Rooney play?  
No one would know, no one can say.  
 
Why do I write things I’ve never thought before?  
It’s just I like writing - a reason for sure.  
What I can't say is that I can write with ease -  
It's an outlet for tensions, a form of release  
 
It gives me pleasure, it gives me pain  
Like a lover it showers me with rain  
Sometimes acute sometimes quite mild  
It's rather like giving birth to a child  
 
I wish to share my joy and sorrow  
Nobody knows what will happen tomorrow  
There must be someone who likes my writing  
That is the reason it feels so exciting.  
 
It makes me happy to express my intuitions.  
It purges me of my anger and inhibitions.  
The more I write the more I grow.  
This is the reason I write, you know

 Why I Write (Mierza Miranti)

I write for something bigger than just the writing itself. Thus, I classify my reasons into three major categories:

1. To affirm my existence

As a human being, I realize that I have the ability to have my thoughts listened to.  By writing them down, I have the manuscript of my opinions, ideas, plans, judgments, considerations, concerns, reflections, and actions to share with the world, or simply as the source of my own contemplation. Thus, to make myself heard and affirm that I exist, I write.

2. To survive among others' existence

Sometimes I am cast in the role of a follower or listener. If I happen to disagree on a matter, I would usually avoid undermining authority or threatening others' existence by showing my disagreement orally. By writing, I can adjust the level of my writing implicitness to the level of risk I - or any person around me -  might encounter. Thus, I survive among other survivors, I write.

3. To show my gratitude for being alive

There are so many things in life to be embraced and grateful for. However, there are only few places, people, and minutes that I have to share the things that sustain my existence in this world. Through writing, the things are preserved for future time. This helps me present my gratitude to my owner, the one who allows me to still occupy the earth. Thus, to thank my creator for everything I have been given, I write.

Why I write (Ivy Sultana)

Apart from writing lessons in school, the writing I used to do from very early age was writing letters. It all started as a necessity. When I was very young, my elder brother was sent away from home in a military run institution for his studies. He was a friend I missed severely. My protector from the gang of the children of my age who used to sometimes break down the fence of my flower garden or uproot a plant I was growing. Those days, the only way to tell him how I suffered in his absence was to write letters. I was eight and did not know how to write a letter. My father had the sole responsibility of writing letters in our house of a very extended family. I cannot really say whether he enjoyed this job or not. I used to press him to write what I wanted to say to my brother. My words would take away a lot of space of his letters.

Perhaps, that was the reason why one day my father wrote a whole letter to my brother for me and asked me to copy it. Eventually, I became quite an expert in copying letters. Then, I tried my hand in writing my stories my own way on the blank spaces of newspaper or any paper I could manage to get. I used to write very long, emotional things, sometimes words of advice and silly details. That was the time when the pursuit of writing creatively actually began for me.

Later, when I was a teenager, I was inspired to see poems written by my brother posted on wall magazines of their class. It was a part of their routine cultural activity. I, very secretly, started writing poems. I wrote only a very few, judged them myself as very childish and gave up writing poems after sometime.

Then, during college, I was very inspired to write stories and started writing a novel, a very ambitious attempt indeed, but did never thought of revealing it to anyone other than a very close friend of mine who used to write poems herself. I still remember the sharp reproof I got from her after she heard about my project. That negative response from my only reader so far left me heartbroken. I gave up writing my first novel, which was a romantic one in true sense; at least I considered it so.

After that, I started reading novels and short stories extensively. I was amazed to see how the writers could say the complicated truths of life so easily. I tried to feel the power of words as I kept reading on. When I was doing my undergrad I submitted a short prose piece for a British Council run writing project. That piece was published online and I was so elated to find that many people liked it. I felt like I have got a purpose for writing.

I try to write regularly these days. I try writing short stories. I think of it as a way to express what I think, how I feel, and what I observe. As a person, I am not very expressive. I mix very well with people and am very adaptable. But I cannot always reveal my thoughts to others through speech. Maybe that is why I use my stories to ventilate all my thoughts. Whenever I develop the characters for my stories, I always try to feel what the characters would feel in a given situation in my stories. I try to look at things through their eyes. I believe that observation is very important for creative writing. Most of the time, the characters in my stories are reflections of the people around me. I become completely absorbed in my stories as I look for the right words and expressions as I write. I feel an immense pleasure when I finish writing a story. This freedom of writing or telling what I want to say through fiction, through my characters, means a lot to me. This is why I write. This is why I want to write.

Why I write (Phuong Le)

I started writing poems in English very recently and I entered this world of creative writing like a toddler learning to walk, slowly and carefully. At first, I wrote because my friend, Hoai An, encouraged me to write, and the Creative Writing team taught me to do it. To my great surprise, I gradually discovered that I can make poems, which is an ability that I had never thought of before. I had never written a poem even in my mother tongue!

Now, I write because this sets me thinking and motivates me to continue the long journey of learning. Creative writing has become my regular language homework which I turn to when I have time. I write, rewrite, and repeat the cycle.  

Writing is also a way for me to record what my photos cannot capture about my daily experience.  As I have many albums of photos about the world around me, I hope to gradually build a collection of poems about the life I cherish.

Most importantly, the process of creative writing enables me to grow, not only mentally but also emotionally. 

Why I write (Meng Tian)

Creative writing as innovative activities motivates me to improve my integrated language and writing skills. The integration of creative writing practice into my teaching also maximizes my teaching results.

Creative writing is magical. The writing process is arduous, but creative writing practice adds the element of fun through the play of language, imagination and suspense. The fun also derives from my desire to entertain and surprise readers with unusual uses of language and imagination.

Creative writing has helped me realize gradually there is a writer inside myself besides an EFL teacher and learner. The practice endows me with the ability to make up stories with common words for the attention of my students, for the satisfaction of my self-image,  as a focus while interacting with my friends, and for more fun in my life.

Why I write (Kanokon  Opasmongkonchai,  Thailand)

I write because I like writing.  I think I have been fond of writing since I studied in primary school while a Thai teacher asked students to write an essay. At that time, when I wrote, I just wanted to convey what was in my mind and I didn't even think about my grades.  I felt excited about writing rather than going to the amusement park when I got the topic to write and I looked forward to reading some comments from my teachers.  To my mind, writing is so challenging and fun.  When I grew up, writing e-mails was my favourite, for personally; I like to tell a story or the events that I have taken part in to others - so writing is the best way to transmit those things to the distant people. Writing mails makes me feel that my readers are close to me and listening to me. At the same time, when I read e-mails from others, I feel that they are in front of me as well.  Until now, writing e-mails has been one of the  high points of my daily life. Apart from sharing experiences, whether good or even bad, representing  who I am, keeping a good long relationship, I can feel that I am not alone or lonely in this big world where dog eats dog, and no one cares. Especially, I feel really free from worries and it gives me the sense of freedom when I am writing.

Now, creative writing is my best challenge. It's not easy to write at all. In my opinion, not everyone can write well - even native speakers. It requires a great deal of patience as well as love to do that. Maybe love should come first when we are going to do something successful. It gives me great pain when my idea doesn't come out and when I have to write in English, which is not my mother tongue.  But when the good  result ripens; I dare say that it's worth it, indeed!

Why I Write (Muhammad Saiful Islam)

 (uploaded on 7 July 2014)

It seems quite an overpowering memory now that I used to make up stories to create an impression on my friends from very early on in my childhood. I preferred to have an audience who would listen and not interrupt while I am telling the story and so that at least one of those in the audience when I finished my self-crafted and carefully-told story, would say in utter astonishment, “really”.

 

While I was telling those stories, which I had already almost made up in my mind the night before my performance, to my utter astonishment, would I realise that as the stories were voiced by me, for reasons unknown, the stories themselves kept spreading new branches and led me to untrodden terrains. I used to be busy weaving my story every night before bedazzling my faithful audience during the recesses between classes. I used to narrate and re-narrate it to myself, sometimes aloud - to the utter annoyance of my little sister - sometimes inside my mind and sometimes in my dreams. I did not realise that my story would assume a control over its own development. A control that would leave me satisfied at my performance and amazed at my own undiscovered creativity.

 

I know now that, while I am trying to retrace the birth of my first written poem or story, I must remind myself that I used to be a teller of stories long before I started to write and get my stuff printed for an audience. These desires to express my imaginative exploits are not new. It seems that it was quite a primitive and raw campaign for my very own existence in front of my friends, who perhaps enjoyed listening more than telling. My heartfelt gratitude now goes to those who were my audience and who I have long lost contact without realising the value of what I was losing. Finding an audience for what I write now is difficult. The pain of losing the listeners from my past becomes quite unbearable sometimes as I recall that in that audience there was a girl with rosy cheeks and dreamy eyes. She is unforgettable. Manufacturing stories continued. I got to discover that I could pretend to have stomach-aches to bunk off school. My mother always had an unflinching faith in what I told her and thus always signed my leave-of-absence applications for my class teacher. It was difficult to make my father put his signature on my report cards after the publication of the results, as my maths had never been in tune with my other subjects’ scores. But a story would always come up, punctured with graphic descriptions of how badly my math teacher had performed. In the end the story wins.

 

Now the stories I tell, I write. I write because I have the right to write. I write because I understand why my seven-year old daughter keeps talking to me. I know that once she manages to put in writing what she tells, she will be a writer in the making. I write because my wife does not complain about listening to me while I read to her what I have written, and as I manage to strategically encourage myself by telling myself that my wife enjoys what I have written. I write because I fantasize that somewhere that rosy cheeked girl is pouring her dreamy eyes on what I have written. And I feel liberated telling again that I have the right to write.

Why I write (Tzu-Ning Huang) (Sabrina)

updated on 16 July 2014

I wrote when my grandparents passed away

I wrote after breaking up with ex-boyfriends

I wrote on my cousins’ birthdays

I wrote to my man to say “Yes!”

 

I write to celebrate

I write to regret

I write to remember

I write to forget

 

I write in Chinese to know who I am

I write in English to see how complex the world is

I write even though I am such a bad dancer

I feel my soul dancing through the pen

 

I write to people

I write to my pet

I write to be myself

I write to be different

 

I write to find

I write to hide

I write to die

I write to revive

 

I write

Therefore I am