Knowing Why I Write

A writer writes for so many eclectic reasons.

They write to communicate, to tell their story, and that of others. They write to shine a light on the past, warts and all; illuminate the present and inform the future. They write to reflect on life’s experiences. They write to develop stories. New characters and events emerge as narratives are brought to life. Fiction merging with fact.

Writing is private, a journey into our own hinterland. Private journals hold dear our innermost secrets, to be read by no-one, other than ourselves. Secrets never told, written meticulously on that inviting, crisp blank sheet of paper. Through writing we gain new insight and with new insight brings new opportunities, perhaps even catharsis.

But why do I write?

I write to tell my story. I write to share the past, the narrative of what’s gone before. I write to share the here and now, and I write to share tomorrow. When I write I tell of a future we may not be ready for. This moment of writing has already become the past. How fleeting that moment is and yet how important.

I write because stories need to be told. I write to ease the pain and suffering of life, the anxiety and the stress and equally to share the joyous happy moments that befall us all. I write because I want to. Because I can.

I write as a nurse because when nurses write, they intensify nursing’s voice. I write to share my own experiences as a woman, academic, friend and confidante. I write to bear witness. I am not a journalist, I am not so much an activist, I am a feminist. I am angered at the impact of misogyny; racism and inequality; violence and hate. I write to share political writing and personal viewpoints. I write to illuminate injustice, to shine a light on the heroines and heroes of our time and those of yesterday. I write because stories need to be told. I write to please no-one. Only myself.

I write to expand my language, evoke a memory, a feeling long since buried. I write to provoke a response. I write to call forth; to summon; to speak my truth. I write to empower, to make sense of life and the world in which we live. I write to connect with who I am, to express myself; to gain insight, to understand. I ‘write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect’ [Anais Nin].

We all live life through our unique perspective of the world in which we find ourselves. I write to leave my imprint, like a ripple on the sand as it advances towards the shore, shifting and turning with the flow of the tide. And as new memories replace old, instead of those memories being washed away I write to preserve them. To create an image of lives lived.

Writing brings me great pleasure. I am at ease with expressing myself in the way I choose. I am at home with my own ideas; thoughts and innovations; my emotions and my sympathies.

When I write I take a stance. I open my heart and my soul. I look at the world through a lens of compassion and kindness, through a lens of understanding. As an academic I write to entwine the views of others with my own. I write to persuade, influence, analyse and inform. To challenge the rhetoric, the tyranny, the oppression, the status quo and the downright ridiculous. I write to make the world a better place.

Many great authors have sought to inform society of their reasons for writing. George Orwell who wrote of tyranny and oppression; Paulo Freire, who believed in and wrote about the power of education to change lives, Charles Dickens who wrote about the plight of those unlucky enough to be poor in Victorian England and Maya Angelou who wrote about discrimination as a woman, a black woman, living in America. Each and every one of these writers and many more like them, have all, in some way inspired me to write. Their narrative, their personal stories, reigniting the embers of a flickering flame, empowering me to become the writer I want to be. I long to be.

I write because I want to challenge the concept of man being the ultimate power and to bring humankind into the equation. I write to challenge ignorance. To elevate the voice of the victims. The unheard. The unloved. The uncherished. I write to remind us all that slavery exists and continues to exist. Oppression likewise.

On writing this piece I asked myself a few meaningful questions. What did I read that changed my life? What resonated with me? What wrestled me to the ground and didn’t allow me to get up until I declared I was a convert. What impacted on me so greatly that in later years I felt compelled to write. To stand up. To be counted.

It was Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Match Girl that was to help shape my future. Read it for yourself, you will see why. Watch the videos freely available today. It will break your heart. And then read about the horror of the lives of the Matchstick Women who worked in the very factories that made the matches. That destroyed their lives. Heartrending.

I want my writing to be all encompassing, creating a strong unadulterated covenant in which we can change the world. Only when we step inside someone’s else’s world, when we show compassion; empathy, understanding, can we truly write. Writing inhabits the worlds we cannot inhabit. It opens up doors we cannot open, or perhaps dare not open, for fear of what we might find. It lifts off the latch into a world we have not yet been afforded the privilege to see.

Through my writing I want to reach into every home, every crevice, every corner. I want to reach into every book shop, every university library; public too. I want it to reside in the journals; the blogs; the letters; the recordings, in the hearts and minds of others.
I want it to expand through space and time. I want it to breathe life. I want my writing to be immortal.

Through my writing I want to tip society towards a better understanding of how we live. In many ways how we are forced to live. I want to encourage society to step forward and embrace uncertainty. It is through camaraderie; through collaboration we can all make a difference. I want people to feel whatever they are feeling, whenever they are feeling it and decide to do something different. To act differently.

I want my writing to help shape the voice of others, amplify what they hear and see, endorse what they feel. I want my writing to help turn all that passion into something positive. And when it happens I want a promise from everyone that such passion will never become the destroyer, the perpetrator, the judge and jury, the executioner. Instead let it be the protagonist. Let it combine with hope, compassion and empathy. Let passion change the world. Not hinder it.

Recently, I have been privileged to work with a Community of Writers who are passionate about ‘Writing for Social Change’. Their enthusiasm is infectious. Their feedback well thought through. Constructive. I have been told my writing is illuminating, confident. It exudes compassion and understanding. It highlights the plight of the underdog. The small fry. The invisible.

Writing for social change has always been a strong, unflinching way to express opinions, influence behaviours and create solidarity. When writing for social change it unpicks that most heinous of crimes; crimes against humanity. Writing for social change is a shrine to a society that has grown up without hope. It is a way to cascade a message, to influence others. It is a vehicle through which, a light can be shone on the lives of those who do not have the ability, the wherewithal or even the fight to challenge the indoctrination that somehow blames them for their own predicament. Such writing highlights the plight of the poor and the inconsequential. It highlights the nobody and makes them someone.

Contemporary society offers writers an eclectic arena of possibilities, a panorama of opportunities. Blogs; journal articles; books; book chapters; academic blogs; poems; prose, letters to the editor. Used wisely these catalysts have the potential to shock the world into action. To define the undefinable, to open up a discourse through which we can share opinions, values and beliefs. It calls to action those who are voiceless. It makes the silence deafening.

Writing raises awareness, it highlights the plight of the needy. It highlights the impact of capitalist policies. It cries out we need change. We need you to beget the change. We need you to be the difference.

Writing expands the universe. It reaches every nook and cranny. Through social media we can bring stories to life, we can galvanise society, strengthen a call to action, deploy a nation and by doing this we can create everlasting, unwavering change. But using social media is not the only way. It’s not the panacea. As with violence, it is not the answer. There was no social media in the 1960s when American people stood up to racism, discrimination, hate and oppression. In the late 1800’s when women fought for suffrage, or in the factories when women fought to save their jobs, in some cases even their lives. There was no social media then. No armchair supporters. But there was a sense of solidarity. There was a recognition of the need for change. There was hope. There was the passion. There was a belief that things could be different. There was the motivation. There was the drive.

In years to come, when you are pushing up the daisies how do you want to be remembered? For your voice? Your humanity? Your compassion? Your impact? Your zest for life? Your aspirations? Your love for humankind? What? Take the time to shape a portrait of your inner self. Decide who you want to be. Decide your why? Your how? Reach out to others and give them a hand. Through compassion you can do this. Through dialogue likewise.

Dialogue creates an emotional connection. Hearing personal stories adds strength to a life lived; torment felt; suffering witnessed. It opens up an abundance of compassion and sympathy. It illuminates injustice. Agony is heard in the tremble, the quiver. It is seen in the tears, in the eyes of despair. It is seen in empty pockets, in hungry faces. It is witnessed in the abject misery.

Writing for social change has the power to shift public opinion, question the unquestionable; challenge the unchallengeable. It has the power to shape public opinion and influence policy change. Get the right people, in the right place at the right time and we can move mountains.

It can mobilise communities, expand society’s reach. By clearly articulating the problem, we can work collaboratively to support a solution, it doesn’t have to be at national level, local is a start. It may be all that is necessary. Unlikely, but even so.

Become a voice of power and influence, not of the rich, but of the poor. Write to MPs, the council, go to meetings, lobby parliament, lift high the voice of everyone. Through your action we can create a more just and equitable society. A fairer society. Where the rich don’t get richer and the poor poorer but instead creates a fairer equilibrium

If you write, encourage others to write with you. It can amplify those forgotten voices. The meek, the mild, the unheard, the disempowered, the forgotten. It can make a difference. It can change the all-pervasive narrative.

Chapters in history, that’s all we are. Moments in time, that’s all we have. It’s how we use those chapters, how we decide the part we want to play throughout those moments in time that will undeniably make all the difference.

Writing opens up a door of new possibilities and new ideas. Writing can help develop our unique voice, our self-awareness; it piques our curiosity and our passion. It tells the story of humanity; what makes us human.