So it seems there's something about writing. Writing something that you care about and hope that others care about as well. The only answer? The inner English major. A gremlin that lives in your appendix, behind a small typewriter, generating "Text", hoping for recognition. Your English major needs an output like humans need food or shelter or cable television.There really does seem to be some part of us that feels the need to write. I mean, everyone and their grandma has a blog these days. It doesn't seem to matter whether anybody reads it or not; we just keep writing anyway. I wonder if that has something to do with the orange button right below the text box where I'm writing this that says "Publish Post." We don't just want to put words on paper or on a screen: we want to share those words with others. Sure, there will always be the types that write only for themselves, like my freshman English students who were terrified of sharing their writing with me or their peers. But like I would tell my classes, what's the point of writing if you're not going to share it with someone else? That's what writing was invented for. Everyone has something they want to tell the world; writing lets us have our say without being interrupted and with better logic and grammar.
When I was a kid, I used to think about how I would write about certain events in my future autobiography. And now that I'm blogging, I find myself thinking throughout the day about what would make a good blog post. I'm always writing in my head, tinkering with arguments, perfecting pithy sentences, discovering metaphors and similes. I'm sure it's a common affliction. This blog is a good way to get some of that thinking out. And of course, the magic of writing is that the act itself gives you new ideas and new ways to express them.
Well, I wrote some grand concluding statements to really bring this post to a stirring close, but I have a barbecue to go to, so there's no time to make them sound less stuffy and pretentious right now. So that's it for now. Moral of story: write, or your appendix will burst.
5 comments:
Actually, I think "write, or your appendix will burst" works pretty darn well as a concluding statement. It may, in fact, be the best concluding statement I have heard (er--read) in a long, long time.
You make an excellent point, you know. But it makes me wonder what makes us want to share our thoughts with other people. Maybe it just comes down to that need to be understood, to have people know what you're thinking so you can see if they're thinking the same thing too, or at least whether or not they're impressed with what you were thinking. (That's why I write, I think. Ha!)
But, as you say, writing also helps you to think of things you wouldn't have otherwise. And I love the way I think when I write.
Hope you had fun at the barbeque.
I thought you liked it because I called you incredibly smart. :-P
Sometimes I write for myself - things I want to remember, or things I just need get into words but that might hurt someone's feelings if they were made public. Those things go in my journal.
On the other hand, there are things I feel driven to share. One reason I write for others is that I love reading intriguing things and I figure others do, too, so when I come across something interesting I like to share it.
Aside from that, blogging is a nice way to stay in touch with friends and family. You get the latest news, but you also get to "hear" the voice of people you love.
Welcome, Kim! I've enjoyed dropping by your blog. Joy is really cute!
Thanks. :) Good to hear from you, too. I'm enjoying this window into the Christian soul.
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