Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Why I Write

Yesterday I had a chance to get together with a writing cohort I've been a part of for the last 2 years. We are almost finished with our classwork and then we will all receive our critical literacy certificate. Basically this means we've learned a lot about writing and will be resources for our district. Through this cohort we all had a chance to go to Summer Institute put on through the Minnesota Writing Project. During the institute we always started our day with a writing prompt. So in true fashion, we had a writing prompt (at the end) that was fitting for us: Why do you write? Here was my response (in 5 minutes!):

Today I write for me. I write to remember, mostly. I write so I know what happened when. I write to remember what C or A said to me that day. I write to get a load off my chest. You know those days-those long days, hard days; the days where something someone said gets you all riled up. I write then, too.

It's hard to write for others. It's hard to write what someone wants when it's not what you want. I get stuck then. I suppose I write for others all the time, now, since I have this blog.

But mostly it is for me. Selfishly me.

3 comments:

  1. I think I'm beginning to believe the best writing comes when we are selfish. Keep writing for yourself and I'll do the same and in the magical way that writing works, if we keep at it, our words will somehow touch others, making the world a better place.

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  2. Love that thought! I think you're right, Ruth. Sometimes we have to be selfish, right? It's not very often we can...

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  3. I'm with Ruth--write for yourself! It's why I started my blog too. For me!

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