For the Love of...WRITING!!!
Day after day I question my sanity. "Why do I write?" "What is my reason?" And day after day the answers are the same. "Because you are a voice in this world." "Because it's in your blood." "Because you need to make a difference." "Because you love it." At 21 years old, I am pretty certain about my love for things and my distaste for others. Writing. Writing. Writing. I never considered myself a writer. Only a person with thoughts, ideas, words and feelings. Never a writer. Only someone with an imagination. But never a writer. I sat and had a discussion one day on why people write. What is their purpose. What drives them to want to tell a story. And alot of the answers kept coming back to money. But I had to take a minute and ask myself if it was about money. If I sat in front of this computer everyday for hours at a time for money. If I dealt with cramping hands, an aching back and every other ailment stemming from this computer chair for money. NO! And I knew it was the truth because for years I've been dealing with the same ailments, from this chair of course, and never thought about publishing anything.
Either way, the conversation eventually led to an article titled: The Purpose of Writing. It explored the writers before my time, and possibly before yours. Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni and more. But it mainly focused on why they wrote and what the message was for them. I posted this article on Romance Central in the summer of 2004. I never received one reply. And my faith started to lapse. My muse decided to go south of the border and my patience ran thin. I basically gave up. Out of the blue I get an email. The subject titled: You article on Romance Central. I'm thinking someone is telling me that after so long and no replies that it was being removed. But I was wrong. And this is what the letter said...
I just read your article on the purpose of writing. I wanted to tell you how much it touched me, and I trust that you are well on your way to realizing your dream.
The last paragraph brought a snatch of music to my head. I just read Maya Angelou's "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" and I think that you are absolutely right about the uplifting message she's sending. Throughout the memoir, I became more and more awed by her ability to move forward with things, instead of surrendering to what many would have guess her fate to be. If that's your goal in writing, I salute you.
The pain, the indiginity, I really think thats a big part of writing those powerful pieces. In short, I think you acheived your goal. You stated your mission and reached over to a small housing project in Kentucky. The real reason I quit writing is because I felt I had nothing to say. You really made me realize that if others can endure slaver, oppression, prejudice, and assault, surely I can escape a simple trap of my own design.
Thank you.
Now, as you can imagine, I was truly surprised by this. I posted that article more for myself than anything. And to have touched someone I've never spoken to or even heard of touched me. My muse came back, slowly but surely and my faith in myself became a little higher. I held my head a little higher. In short, me touching her touched me. For the love of...Writing
Either way, the conversation eventually led to an article titled: The Purpose of Writing. It explored the writers before my time, and possibly before yours. Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni and more. But it mainly focused on why they wrote and what the message was for them. I posted this article on Romance Central in the summer of 2004. I never received one reply. And my faith started to lapse. My muse decided to go south of the border and my patience ran thin. I basically gave up. Out of the blue I get an email. The subject titled: You article on Romance Central. I'm thinking someone is telling me that after so long and no replies that it was being removed. But I was wrong. And this is what the letter said...
I just read your article on the purpose of writing. I wanted to tell you how much it touched me, and I trust that you are well on your way to realizing your dream.
The last paragraph brought a snatch of music to my head. I just read Maya Angelou's "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" and I think that you are absolutely right about the uplifting message she's sending. Throughout the memoir, I became more and more awed by her ability to move forward with things, instead of surrendering to what many would have guess her fate to be. If that's your goal in writing, I salute you.
The pain, the indiginity, I really think thats a big part of writing those powerful pieces. In short, I think you acheived your goal. You stated your mission and reached over to a small housing project in Kentucky. The real reason I quit writing is because I felt I had nothing to say. You really made me realize that if others can endure slaver, oppression, prejudice, and assault, surely I can escape a simple trap of my own design.
Thank you.
Now, as you can imagine, I was truly surprised by this. I posted that article more for myself than anything. And to have touched someone I've never spoken to or even heard of touched me. My muse came back, slowly but surely and my faith in myself became a little higher. I held my head a little higher. In short, me touching her touched me. For the love of...Writing
posted by Tiyatti Speight | 4/24/2005 10:48:00 PM
3 Comments:
Hey Girlie!
Your blog is so introspective and well expressed. Keep doing what you do...your talent is amazing and will only get better.
The rest of us are lucky to have your work to look forward to.
Tzynya
This is definitely one writer's account of why she writes. You didn't mention that you are talented as another reason why you write. Keep up the good work.
H.D.
Nice work!
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