Monday, December 02, 2024
ESSAY - WHY DO I WRITE?
BY DONOVAN BALDWIN
Why do I write?
Why does anyone write?
They have, they believe, something to say.
Right?
Well, for a "non-writer", that may be sufficient, but, the word "writer" is a slippery devil. It, of course, can be used to define anyone who takes up pen (or keyboard) and... well... writes.
Something!
Anything!
I have written standard operating procedures which were published and distributed to several sections of a military facility... made the "law of the land", if you will. Still, that, to ME did NOT feel like "writing".
Now, when I write poems, or even small screeds such as this one, I am, to my mind, a writer. In this writing, I am turning loose what a lady named Subi Nanthivarman so delightfully refers to as her "Writing Genie", or, apparently, "WG" to friends and coworkers.
Wonderful concept, I think.
For me, it's that weird little thing in my brain (in my case a Leprechaun-like creature), that has things to say and insists on sharing them with its human host in this symbiotic relationship. I don't control it, nor it me, yet, when it asks for pen or keyboard, I must comply.
For me, THAT is when I, with the aid of my faithful side-kicker, become a writer.
Why do I write?
Because as an obedient servant to the creature within, I must obey its demands or suffer the consequences... something like an addict suffering withdrawal.
Why does anyone write?
They have, they believe, something to say.
Right?
Well, for a "non-writer", that may be sufficient, but, the word "writer" is a slippery devil. It, of course, can be used to define anyone who takes up pen (or keyboard) and... well... writes.
Something!
Anything!
I have written standard operating procedures which were published and distributed to several sections of a military facility... made the "law of the land", if you will. Still, that, to ME did NOT feel like "writing".
Now, when I write poems, or even small screeds such as this one, I am, to my mind, a writer. In this writing, I am turning loose what a lady named Subi Nanthivarman so delightfully refers to as her "Writing Genie", or, apparently, "WG" to friends and coworkers.
Wonderful concept, I think.
For me, it's that weird little thing in my brain (in my case a Leprechaun-like creature), that has things to say and insists on sharing them with its human host in this symbiotic relationship. I don't control it, nor it me, yet, when it asks for pen or keyboard, I must comply.
For me, THAT is when I, with the aid of my faithful side-kicker, become a writer.
Why do I write?
Because as an obedient servant to the creature within, I must obey its demands or suffer the consequences... something like an addict suffering withdrawal.
Labels: donovan baldwin, essay, writer, writing
# posted by Donovan Baldwin @ 10:43 AM 
