Hi friends,
I just finished a five-week writing course, Write of Passage. It was one of the best gifts I’ve given myself. This week, I reflect upon what attracts me to writing.
Until next week,
Vivian
Why I write
Writing as a way of living
Writing gives me a purpose to do things. In his book What I talk about when I talk about running, Murakami says, “writing gives you a reason to go to the beach even if you don’t like the beach.”
Say, I’m traveling to an unfamiliar city, writing my experience sets an intention for things I do. I become more observant. I notice the smell in the air, the noise on the street, the look on people’s faces. Instead of checking off boxes on tourist spots, I embrace serendipitous encounters. I start conversations with strangers. I find meaning in these actions because I can use them as my watercolor for the painting called “my state of mind”.
Now, I take this intention to days even when I’m not traveling. It allows me to see the freshness in my daily routine. Discovering seasons quietly change when I drive my children to school every morning always gives me a kick.
Writing is a way to make sense of my human experience.
Writing as a way of connecting with my tribe
There is no better way to deeply know someone than by reading what he writes. After interviewing David Foster Wallace for the Infinite Jest, a journalist complained that some of his questions were left unanswered. Wallace’s agent quipped, “what else do you want to know about David? He just wrote a 1000-page book.”
Writers are introspective, naturally inquisitive, special people. Who else is willing to endure the pain of putting words to fleeting thoughts instead of lounging around on a Tuesday evening? Writing is self-expression that connects me to other writers, my tribe. I had some of the best conversations in my writing class, the Write of Passage, where people listen intently, ask relevant questions, and offer thoughtful insights. I know so much about them as humans: who they are and what they care about instead of what they “do”.
Writing as a way of contributing
When I was in graduate school, we held seminars to discuss the research papers we had read. During group discussions, I felt my ideas were obvious and struggled to sound original. Everyone else made brilliant comments. I felt my palms sweating and my heart pounding, waiting for my turn to speak but ending up skipping every chance.
Eventually, I realized a good discussion simply requires everyone to share what occurred in their mind. What you consider obvious can inspire others. Individual comments are stepping stones that build up the collective understanding.
Every piece you share with the internet is a tile. Over time, these tiles make up a mosaic of your thoughts. If any of my tiles can validate one person’s feelings, inspire one conversation, contribute my personal experience to one issue, then that would be the perfect reason for me to write.
Dear friends, why do you write?
Cool stuff related to writing
Watch this movie clip from “The End of the Tour”. It gives you a glimpse of how David Foster Wallace sees himself and the act of writing. This movie shows the behind-the-scene and Wallanc’s state of mind after he penned the Infinite Jest. Thumbs up.
Read Draft #4, a New Yorker piece about writing by John McPhee, to see the writing process of a legendary writer, editor, and writing instructor. It’s almost comforting to see struggle with writing is so common, no matter who you are. The only path is to persist. Then you reach somewhere truly beautiful.
Enjoyed reading this Vivian:)
This is a great piece! I like the "mosaic" imagery.
For me, writing is therapy. It calms me down and helps me think through difficult things.
BTW here's a good summary of Infinite Jest. The book seems to be mostly "post-modernist". ie, it's a critique that the world is mostly chaotic and meaningless, and the critique is presented with irony and sarcasm.
eg, the book talks about a teenage tennis player that always holds a gun to his head during each game, and threatens to shoot himself if the ref doesn't declare him the winner. Eventually, through his extortionary tactic, he becomes a world champion. Having no further goals in life, he shoots himself and dies.
The book also talks about a terrorist group that kills people by installing large mirrors on mountain roads. When a truck drives towards it at night, it sees its own reflection. Mistaking it for another incoming vehicle, the truck swerves and ends up falling off a cliff, killing everyone onboard. One day, a psychotic, suicidal driver drives by, sees the "incoming vehicle", and decides to go for a head-on collision. It ends up shattering the mirror. Ironically, the suicidal person survives.