Seriously, only one more full day until school starts?! Bleurgh. It's funny--in the past I've always been fairly excited to go back to school, but I don't really feel much of that this year. I've spent long enough at that school, and I'm ready to just go to college. I am kind of excited to see and talk to friends and see some teachers, but I'm not really looking forward to the stress and homework and probably tears...*sigh* I really did mostly take today to relax, read, walk, and watch The Next Food Network Star. I LOVE that show.
Anyway, since I did a post earlier this week about my writing and novels, I thought it was only fitting that I presented you today with my reasons to write. In case you need encouragement. So, without further adieu, I present to you: Kat's Top Ten Reasons to Write
1. You have a safe medium with which to express yourself.
Everyone needs to find something that helps them express their thoughts and feelings. Some people dance, some act or paint or sculpt or make music. Writing is yet another way. It's something you can either keep completely private or share with the world, but either way you're choosing what you tell people about yourself. In this way, it's safe. You control the words you're writing, and you have the chance to revise and edit and change your mind before you express yourself to the world at large.
2. Unlike when reading, you can control what's on the next page.*
Both contain many of the same elements. They are both suspenseful, because no matter how much you plan out a story, your characters often surprise you and change and throw you for a loop. They're both incredibly enjoyable. You get to escape into a different world, and really get to know the people in the book and connect with them. But when you're reading, the author obviously has total control over what happens in the book. You don't really know the inner motivations and thoughts of the characters (although often the author doesn't either). But when YOU are the writer, you have as much control as you want. Even when your characters surprise you, you are still the one writing the next word, line, paragraph, page...It's completely your world and these characters are your friends, who will stick with you--even the ones you don't like.
3. You might just finish a novel one day.
Yes, this reason matters even if that novel never gets published. I finished my one (and only) novel because of NaNoWriMo in November. Currently, I don't actually ever plan one editing that novel let alone trying to get it published. The mere feeling that came with writing an entire 58,674 word novel was enough. Just to know that you've created something, again, that's completely yours. That you expressed yourself beautifully through these characters, and each small change and action that occurs. Writing is a medium to express the things you need to, without having to speak them out loud. You can be a little more subtle, and often you don't even know what inner thoughts are coming out. But I at least felt 100x better after completing my novel, for reasons I still don't completely understand. I know I said a lot of things I needed to say, and that's what writing gives you. So don't be afraid that you're not "good enough." It doesn't matter, as long you're proud of it and it helps YOU.**
4. It gives you something to do on those lonely or dreary days when you're stuck inside.
When you're bored of watching TV, have no good books to read, and feel like you are stuck in your house, you can WRITE. Or if you're stuck on an airplane, in an airport, or waiting for someone. It's something that is just incredibly easy and comfortable to do. Even if you just write a short poem or write out your thoughts in a blog or journal or something. Writing gives you comfort because it's completely YOU, no judgments. And no matter how lonely or dreary the day is, you can enter a completely different world of brightness and love, and experience those things you desperately need. Just dive in and write.
5. Writing is a much better procrastination tool than just surfing the internet.
Seriously. I mean, I use the internet to procrastinate sometimes too. Mostly, though I don't procrastinate. When I do, it's because I'm reading a good book or writing something I really need to say. I feel like writing is much better for procrastination because at least you're doing something--expressing yourself, learning about the beauty of words, releasing those things you hide. This is why November was kind of a bad month for me as far as getting homework done....Ha, but it sounds a lot better to say to a teacher, "I was writing my book last night, so I didn't really complete the homework," than "I don't really know what I was doing, but..." Just sayin. :D
6. It's a hobby*** that doesn't cost anything, takes very little time, and can be done anywhere. And that doesn't have to become anything more than a hobby.
Honestly, one of the simplest and easiest hobbies to do. Especially if you learn not to be reliant on a computer and can just sketch out various writings on whatever paper you have. It also doesn't really involve someone teaching you how to do it. Rather, the learning process occurs over months and years, as you realize what works, what sounds good, what connects with you and with other people. Or, actually, your writing doesn't have to be considered "good" by the outside world. It can just be a way to amuse yourself. Or a way to express yourself. Whatever your reason for doing it, it's amazingly easy and so much fun.
7. People are generally very impressed.
I don't usually like this reason, but it is a good thing. Usually. I always feel uncomfortable when people say it's amazing that I write. I do admit that I'm a fairly good writer, but whenever someone finds out that I wrote a novel or just that I write during my free time, the reaction is usually the same: WOW. Writing seems so impressive and unattainable, when really anyone can do it, they just don't realize this. Whether or not you choose to let on that it's not exactly hard to do, people will still be amazed and admire the fact that you WRITE, tell stories, convey feelings, whatever. As a side note, it's a good way to impress teachers, especially English teachers. ;D
8. You have great story material.
Okay, probably not as much story material as my past 6 lists, but still. It's a good conversation starter, definitely. The topic of writing may not quite make you the life of the party, because not as many people talk about it or have experienced it. If you are lucky enough to find another fellow writer, then you're definitely in luck because you can share tips, mess-ups, tears, laughs, the process of writing. However, chances are kind of slim that you will meet another person so passionate about writing at a party. SO, instead, let's say you've been talking to someone and suddenly the conversation goes dead. You're both staring off awkwardly, wondering what to say next or perhaps if you should just politely leave. The fact that you write is still a good conversation starter. They'll be impressed, want to hear what you write about, how you do it, etc. And you can also tell some hilarious stories about the books/poems/short stories that you wrote when you were younger that just completely failed. Your conversation partner will (probably) laugh, learn something, and probably still connect with you on some level, because everyone has a way they express themselves. So at least the conversation has the chance of turning into that: a discussion on art.
9. Writing teaches you a lot.
About EVERYTHING. About yourself, about how the world works, about love and loss and pain. You can explore topics you're too afraid to in the real world by creating your own safe place to look into those painful topics. I also think that as you continue to write more and more, you learn a lot about the way that people act and think and talk. As a writer, you focus a lot on PEOPLE, listening to them talk and watching their reactions. You come to notice a lot more about the world and the people around you. Of course, you also learn a lot about yourself, especially the things you hid from yourself before. Writing is just so great for learning and admiring the way the world works. It makes you realize how beautiful and unique each and every single person is.
10. You have something to blog about.
I have obviously already shown this. But so have Kristina and Hayley. I will grant that this blog post isn't very exciting. But on days when you're not sure what to blog about or just have too much running through your mind to write something, you can share your story or poem or whatever you've been writing that you're proud of. Blog people always seem to enjoy reading what other people write, probably because we really are all writers, even if we just blog. Sharing your thoughts through your writing is just another way to connect with people who read your blog. :)
I do feel like I can only encourage people to write up to a point. It's very much a choice, and it does require the willingness to suck sometimes. To be stuck and frustrated a lot. To experience a lot of tears and laughter when you're not expecting it. And to learn things about yourself you might not want to know. But writing really is a beautiful thing, and I genuinely hope everyone can find some way to use it for their benefit.
Tomorrow is my last day of summer. I don't feel like it's been 10 weeks already, but clearly it has been. I want to rewind time back to June and just try this summer all over again. But I doubt it would happen much differently. And anyway, now that I think about it, I am rather excited to see how my senior year turns out. Even if I don't want to go back to that dreaded building, this is my last year to see most of these people. I have had some happy times at that school and some really good friends. At the end of the year, I'll be about 50% crying, 50% eager for my life in college to start. So, yeah. Let's get this senior year going and just see what happens. No expectations, no disappointment, just heart and fun and surprises. That's all.
Cheers!
Inspirational quote/photo of the day:
*If you got that Ellen DeGeneres reference, you are my new best friend. Seriously. **Most people deny this, but it's really true. If your goal isn't to get published (and it shouldn't be, as a beginning writer), then it doesn't matter how "good" or "bad" your writing is. If it helps you and you're having fun, then it's good just by those facts.
***I hate calling writing a "hobby," but that is the basic definition I was trying to get across in this post. I'm not saying you should write tons of novels and get published and become famous, because that's not realistic. I'm saying you should try to write just for YOU, just for the pure enjoyment. Because that's what really matters.
No comments:
Post a Comment