Why i write

Why do I write?

Its simple really, there is no deep hidden meaning behind it. I shan’t fool you into thinking that by writing I achieve a nigh-nirvana state of enlightenment or that I write in order to fulfill my needs which were neglected as a child.

I write because I can.

Well, I can. Like I can talk, I can walk, I can eat and I can sleep.

Yeah

Simple really.

But honestly speaking, why I write holds a different meaning for all of us I guess. We all have our own reasons for writing.

Apart from the fact that I can write, I can’t do a few other things too well. For instance, I can’t sing. Yes, I just can’t. I’m tone deaf you see. My voice can’t reach the right notes or the right pitches. So don’t expect me to be singing songs of heartache or trying to create awareness regarding social issues with my voice… ‘cos I can’t/

Other than that, I can’t paint. Oh yes, I have no sense of colour coordination whatsoever. A colour is a colour. That’s how it is to me. Red is red, green is green, and black, no matter what you say about it, will always be black. Although the discerning artist will tell you that no colour is as what it seems and some crap like that, well, colours are just colours are just colours. Nothing to it really. So I won’t be painting any post-modern, anguish-laden, symbolistic piece of defiance to society kind of work. ‘Cos I can’t.

My drawing sort of sucks too. It seems that I have been limited to merely drawing sad little caricatures, mainly doodles of various animals both real and mythical. Although I must say that my mythical creatures look exceptionally fine… (especially my three-legged grophondwarph) I can’t really say the same for my real animals… if I were to draw a cat, it might look more like a Hurtingus Yarp… or even a Bolgh (these are also other mythical creatures I have made up). So I won’t be publishing any politically charged cartoon or be bitching about how life sucks through drawing either.

Which brings us back to writing.

Oh yes,

Writing.

A passion once lost rediscovered again.

When it comes to writing, it is far more interesting than to speak. For speaking is like masturbation. The thrill is only temporary. Once you’re done, it feels kind of sticky. Plus you get only one chance to deliver your message. You don’t get to come back, re-edit it and make it sound extra nice.

But with writing, you can do all that and more.

Writing is a powerful tool. Pardon me for torturing a cliché, but it is. It is a tool which can be used to convey thought, emotion, ideas, etc… It is a medium where you get to really fine-tune your message and use your command of the language to the fullest. A writer can describe his feelings and his ideals using his words. He can change perceptions, both his own and others around him.

But lets not get sucked into writing rhetoric, lets look at some examples of the power of writing.

Take a look at movies. Yeap, those big Hollywood blockbuster productions. The movies which they always seem to keep making based on books…yea, books. Books which were the result of months…even years of hard writing…writing, and more writing….

Have you ever watched a movie based on a book and go like ‘the book was better’. That is because the book IS better. For the simple reason that the written word is better than the spoken-special effects-big explosion words on screen.

In the book, the setting is described, each character is fleshed out in detail, the reader takes it all in at his/her own pace… it is fluid, gentle, beautiful.

Unfortunately not many appreciate the power of writing, in an era of quick-fixes and easy access, writing seems like a cumbersome chore. Reading and writing are the keystones of civilization. Its what made us who we are. Knowledge is permanently recorded in writing, together with history, plays and whatever else you can think of.

So I write. And I shall continue to write until my hands fall off or I lay lifeless, my spirit flown off. But maybe even so, in my afterlife, I hope they have word processors in Heaven (yes I am optimistic) so I can spend the rest of my life, writing for eternity….among other things of course..

So to my reader, thanks for reading my written rant. Its not very often that you find someone willing to pore over several hundred words for a few minutes. I hope that you too will write about your own experiences, your views and opinions, your environmenct and maybe even write about why you write.