My blogosphere partner [bbnewsab] and I started a symposium recently (Global Position Symposium) and issued invitations on thread topics, one of which was Writing.
Georginia, by way of “Mostly Blogging”.
has submitted an excellent contribution to this thread. I am posting the original, verbatim. Now Bloggers, GPS has at least two essays on writing. I am clairvoyant enough to know: There are dozens of you reading Georginia’s work, right here and now [yes, I can see you]. Please add to this symposium. You can put it in the comments at the end of this post or better yet, send it to me e-mail at charlesclantonrogers@me.com or charlesclantonrogers@gmail.com. [“Every step you take, every breath you take, I’ll be watching you” – so join Georginia and give bbnewsab and me something to put in this space. Thanks]
“6 REASONS WHY WE WRITE.”
Posted on September 5, 2015, by Georgina Cromarty
I want to spill ink onto pages
I want to spill ink onto pages that will break your heart, then mop up the careless mess into words that might fix you.
When we write, we do so for a myriad of reasons that can shift depending on our mood, our environment, events that have happened, or even our time in life.
Sometimes, it is just a bone deep desire that we can neither quantify nor explain. Sometimes we write for a broad spectrum of needs, and sometimes for only one.
So, why do we write?
To express how we feel.
Writing at its most fundamental level, is a expression of our inner-most feelings. It doesn’t matter whether you are writing an extreme horror, or a children’s book. We pour our feelings out onto the pages, and may put ourselves into the mind of a psychopath, a soldier, an abandoned child, or a miss-understood teenager. We use our imagination, or our experience, or both, to live through the eyes of that person for a time.
2. To move people
A writer who can move people is a word magician. As a writer it is our aspiration to make our reader feel. The greatest writers can take readers on a roller-coaster, from the highs of joy or humour, to the lows of the darkest, most desperate, despair.
3. To create
When we write we create, be it another world, or another life, with a rich tapestry of interactions. We can create beauty, and we can create terror. Here we become the master of a universe, an all powerful being with the responsibility of life and death. It is both heady and humbling.
I often think that my characters possess minds of their own, and yet they are the by-product of everything I have seen, done, and experienced, whether through my own reality, or the reverie of others books.
4. To provoke thought
Perhaps the greatest legacy of a book is its ability to provoke thought. Through writing, we may come to question our own lives, behaviour, or even our society. We may also allow our mind to ramble in a non-judgemental way that seeks simply to understand.
5. To forget or escape
Writing, just like reading, is a mechanism of escape. Perhaps you have had a stressful day, and you need to let those issues rest. Perhaps you simply enjoy the vibrant imaginative world that lets you experience a dark, wondrous, or incredible other life.
6. To remember
Finally, we also write to remember, or perhaps more, so that we do not forget. Maybe it is our childhood, a feeling, a time, or a by-gone era.
When we write, we capture moments that are little snapshots of our inner self, and by doing so they are immortalised forever, or at least until the legacy of their electronic presence or paper fades.
I will leave you with a question. Why do you write?
Hi Charles,
Thank you for mentioning my blog MostlyBlogging.com. I would be eternally grateful if you cold insert a link back to my post where I promoted you and Georgina today or a link to my blog. Thank you so much.
Janice
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Oh yeah, let me try to do that!!! c
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Thanks!
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Done 14:40 EDT
Let me know if that doesn’t work for you! c
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Thank you for the comments. The U.S. has most of my followers. Where do you live?
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Arlington, VA. 22203.
Where do you live?
c
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Yet most of your followers are Swedish! I’m in Los Angeles, CA
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Hi Charles, did you notice I ended today’s post by also asking what inspires people to write?
I write because I want to help people. I find helping people rewarding.
I answered the question on your post. I would love it if you answered the question on my post 😊. Thanks!
Janice
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Ok, I just filled up some of your space with more than anybody wants to know about me! I hope that was approximately what you wanted. your friend, charles
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That was great. Thank you. People have come from your site today (6) but no subscribers (so far.) I see you are getting traffic from my site today too. I am glad.
Janice
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Yes, “best. link” gave my site a big boost. I’m going to keep you at the top of my dance card. OK?
c
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Anytime! Thank you! Of course!
J
PS What do you mean by “best.link”?
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I meant: “Your recognition of my link” helped me! c
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I have a Swedish cheer leader! It’s “inexplicable” Seeden has even given me a “nom de plume”: Kung Karl”. I’m reminded of my roots: “Every now and then, even a blind hog finds an acorn.”
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My #7 is closely related to Georgina Cromarty’s #6. Writing not only makes it easier to remember. By writing things down, you can build up a source of informaton and knowledge that is fairly easily conveyed to future generations. To store up and accumulate knowledge makes it more applicable and easier to use. Just think of Wikipedia – always, and jut, a few clicks away from you.
Anyhow, nice to become acquainted with Georgina Cromarty. I have no objetion, Karl, if you reblog more of her writings here. I like people who know how to use their brains and minds on their own in order to create useful and thoughtful information, well worth to be spread.
In Sweden there is a saying that goes like this: “Shared joy and knowledge means doubling the joy and knowledge ‘factor’ “. What do you say on your side of the Atlantic?
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bbnewsab, I believe Christinia is from more than the other side of the Atlantic! All the way on down (up to her) in Perth Australia. You will have to shout! c
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