Why I Write

I love to write because to me it seems like writing is easier than speaking. Easier than life. I find that when I write, I become the character whom I am writing about. It is easy to find words, to transfer my thoughts to paper. It is easier than life, because you control everything. You know everything will work out in the end. The boy will get the girl, the crisis will be resolved, the carriage will be turned back into a pumpkin. They will all live happily ever after.

When you write, you can give everyone exactly what they deserve. The bullies get caught, or hurt. The good people get saved, fall in love. Good things happen to good people. Bad things happen to bad people. Simple.

People you write are easier to understand than real people. You always know exactly what they mean, what they’re thinking. They have layers, but you can peel them apart to see the person underneath. You know exactly what they’re made up of. You created them. And you can erase them if you want. You can do whatever you want, because they are characters.

I can write so much, if I want. If I have time, and one idea, I sit down to write. One idea turns into two. One hour turns into three. Time seems to stand still for me while I write. It stretches, elastic and flowing. It stops completely, like the broken hands on my watch, and I don’t come back to the real world until I realize exactly how long I’ve sat there writing.

If you write it, you know everything. That’s the beauty. You know that other people may like this character, but you hate them because they’re about to do this or that. And yet, you love them anyway, because you created them. It’s complex and simple, black and white, beautiful and terrible, all at the same time. To write is to wield an amazing power. Don’t get me wrong, that’s not why I love it. I have no interest in the power. The story is what I love.

Writing impacts my life because it’s the one thing only I can do, uniquely. Anybody from my family could do almost anything else better, but not this. Writing is what I can do when nobody cares. When everyone hates me, I can turn to my writing. When I write, I forget the real world. It’s just me and my made-up world. And it seems real to me. When the world is turning upside down, I can turn to my writing. When everybody in my family is screaming, I write. When I feel like I just can’t get out of bed today, just can’t leave my room, just can’t leave my house, I write. When I have ideas running around my head, and I’m hyper, and I can’t possibly think straight, I turn to my writing. When it’s three in the morning, and I just can’t sleep, I write. When I want to slit my wrists, to take those pills, to find a rope, I write. It’s a way of expressing what I could never tell anyone. A way to deal with this depression weighing me down.

Writing sets me free, while allowing me to never give up.

Reviews

[Jacob Clifford]

It feels like you pulled these words straight from my mind. For years, I've used writing as a way to escape. But more than that, my writing has become part of my essence. As the words begin to fill the paper, the physical world around me fades away to the world of imagination in front of me. It's a world where anything can happen, and nothing is predetermined. The people there are beautiful and complex and understandable. They invite you over and show you that you mean something, that you can do something better than anyone else.

I love what you said here. Not just because I can relate to it, but because the flow and wording is engrossing. I felt compelled to read it quickly because I couldn't wait to see what you would say next. Fantastic thoughts here.

[richieb]

You poured your heart into this work. It's full of honesty and raw emotion. You have plenty of drive which will only make you get better. You have the writers eye which lets you see and sense life in the sublime while others are oblivious to their surroundings. I look forward to buying your first book.