Why Do We Write? | Teen Ink

Why Do We Write?

March 27, 2015
By taye_young BRONZE, Franklin Lakes, New Jersey
taye_young BRONZE, Franklin Lakes, New Jersey
4 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Favorite Quote:
An entire sea of water can’t sink a ship unless it gets inside the ship. Similarly, the negativity of the world can’t put you down unless you allow it to get inside you -Unknown


We write because we feel are inspired, or because we have an essay due in twelve hours, or because we really have nothing else to do. We write because is makes us feel something; something different. We write because sometimes it feels better to get everything out on paper that it does to say it aloud. We write to get our feelings out and to share our stories and their ideas; we write to make something of ourselves and to make sure that we don’t get left behind, because after all, that might as well be the scariest thing to happen to someone. Being forgotten might just be the biggest fear of all writers, and that is why we write. But it’s not easy. In fact, it’s anything but. You sit down in front of that piece of paper or that laptop or that notebook and you think that you’re going to write. Whether you have an essay due tomorrow or you just need to get your feelings out, you’re going to write. And you feel all of the different emotions swirling inside your mind, and as the pen touches the paper or you fingers hit the keys and then all of a sudden, you forget. You forget what inspired you to write in the first place, but you still try. You write about a paragraph and then you give up; you erase what’s there because it didn’t make sense in the first place. And so what’s the point? There’s no guarantee that you’re going to be the next Shakespeare, Rowling, Whitman, or Twain.  But still, you write. You sit there and you try. You make sense of the words that were all so jumbled, and you write. You’re hoping that the words will take you somewhere; somewhere different. Who cares if it won’t take you where you’re expecting, it sure as hell won’t keep you where you are, and that’s all that matters. And so you write because you’re inspired; because it makes you feel something. You write to get your feelings out and to share your stories and ideas; you write to make sure that you’re not forgotten. So that tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow will have your name written all over it.


The author's comments:

This piece is about why we, as authors, write. There are so many different ways to explain why we write, but one of my favorites is because none of us want to be forgotten. If we can get the words on the paper now, maybe they'll mean something in ten years. 


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