I’m a Serial Writer!
Why do I write? Simply put, because I love it. I love the way it makes me feel. Before, during and after!
Stage 1
Before actually writing anything, comes the stage with the ideas. When my creativity flows faster than ever. When I can’t sleep until I put an idea onto paper. When I come up with an awesome title or topic and absolutely nothing else; no content, but I just know that title is inspiration for an epic article. When I least expect it, those thoughts that I never asked for but are wildly concocted in my head somehow and make their way through to the forefront of my imagination.
Stage 2
Then comes the next stage; writing itself. The feeling of holding a pen and watching the words form as if it’s second nature. Muscle memory and the only type of exercise I partake in! I adore the way that words flow without too much thinking. It just comes out of me like it was there all along and now it’s free to escape my mind and bounce onto paper with zero restrictions. Of course I do get writers block, but that’s only when I’m writing for someone else or towards a deadline.
If I’m writing for the sake of writing, you can guarantee it just spurts out of me as if Dexter just nipped an artery in one of his deserving victims! Although, unlike him, I want it to keep spurting. I don’t apply pressure, I let the vocabulary spill onto the page. That word spatter being exactly what I was looking for, without even knowing it. I’m a serial writer and the spatter tells my story.
Stage 3
Then comes the final stage, once written, I can appreciate the authenticity of my writing. I can appreciate how raw it was, or how relatable others found it. How it made someone laugh or cry, just by being my authentic self. It feels truly beautiful to have lifted the lid off this gift that I have restricted my whole adult life. Only writing what was requested of me and not what I wanted to; emails, essays and letters. A 10000 word dissertation which was the only one where my creativity was allowed a look in. It feels amazing to be able to write again, just for me. I don’t do it for anyone else, it’s something I do that gives me this awesome sense of catharsis and release once it’s done.
As much as I love my audience, I don’t do it for them, I do it for me. It’s pretty much the only thing I do for me, and if they relate or feel some type of way about my content then that’s just a bonus. An amazing, supportive bonus, but a bonus no less. I write because I feel normal afterwards, no matter how I was feeling when I started.
This article was inspired by Heather Martin who wrote a wonderful interactive article asking her followers 7 questions. She tagged a group of her followers under each question and some of us responded via the comments. I decided, me being as extra as I am, to write an entire article on it!!
Here was my question:
When did you first start writing (what style did you try first)? ✍
And this is my answer:
I am not sure when I first started writing because for as long as I can remember I have always loved it. My first word(ish) was “boo” for “book”, or rather it was a demand for my parents to go and get one. I have enjoyed reading and writing since the day I learnt what they were. I am a very curious person and love to learn, so I can imagine the glee on little me’s face when I discovered not only could I read words, but I could write them too. My Dad has a picture of me, no older than 3 years old walking in wellies through overgrown grass and clinging onto a notepad and pen with a huge grin on my face. I can imagine I was in my element then, as it sounds like bliss, even now — to be out in nature and writing.
To answer the second part of Heather’s question, I believe the first style of writing that I tried (that I can remember clearly), would’ve been creative writing in my year 6 English class. We were given the following writing prompt: “If you could go anywhere on holiday where would you go?” and there were follow up questions, some of which I can’t recall, but one that I remember was “who would you go with?”. I can’t remember what I wrote, but I do remember the joy it brought to me, across all 3 stages.
Finally, I would just like to tag a few of the great pieces I have read on why people write and what inspires them, I highly recommend you give them a read.
300 (+21) “Thank Yous!” and 7 Questions by Heather Martin (@cadenzacreates)
What is your “WHY?” by Cat Strav
Why are you writing? by Matt Kennedy
Here’s To 340 + 2 Followers!! by Caitlin Samminga
Why I Write by Ethan H. Gaines
This is Why I Write by Jake Hilden
What Compels You to Write? by Ally Nik
What Inspired Me to Write by Holly Huntress
Why do you write? by Lynne Thompson
More from Holly Faupel
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