Reasons for Writing

1. Things get clearer when I write them down. I don't know about you, but my thoughts make more sense on paper. This is one reason I prefer emails to phone calls. If I have a little time to prepare my thoughts in writing, they will end up much clearer. Sometimes I realize that I want to something totally different when I start writing them down.

2. I learn a lot about myself when I write. I used to write 750 words a day, every day, and it is a great exercise. It never mattered what I wrote about, so long as I wrote. 750 words is a great number, because it is just enough to be hard. Sometimes I would start out with something like a to do list, but that doesn't take up three whole pages. Three pages takes some effort, and by the end, you start really getting into what your own head. It's odd to suddenly realize what it is that has been bothering you for a week when you see it on the page in front of you, but that happens to me a lot. I am not currently writing everyday, but I hope to start up again soon.

3. It's an accomplishment. I have just created something that didn't exist before, whether it is a short story, or a poem, an essay, a to do list, or this blog post. It is a new piece of creativity that wasn't there before, and that's something to be happy about.

4. Somebody (I can't remember who) once said that each year, their NaNoWriMo novel is "less bad" then the one they wrote the year before. I think this is totally true. Every time I write something, even if I don't feel like it is much better then my last thing, is less bad. That one mistake in my last essay isn't in this one. It's not a lot, but it's something. The more I write, the less bad I get. :)

5. I write to learn how. Every time I write something, there is something I don't know. There is a word I can't figure out the plural possessive spelling for, or a compound-complex sentence I can't remember how to punctuate, or a character I can't figure out how to make more empathetic. Each of these is a learning experience, and next time, those won't be problems. I've never taken a creative writing class, and only one on essay writing, but I learn from experience. If I get a bad grade on an essay, I figure out why. Next time, I'll still have problems, but they won't be the same problems. If there is something I really don't like about my story, I read it over and over until I figure out why, and try to fix it.

There are my top five reasons to write. What are yours? Tell me in the comments!

I think everybody can benefit from writing, even if you're not really much of a writer. Write a poem, or a short story, or try free writing. No one has to see it, and I'll bet you'll learn something from it, if you know what to look for.