Why Write?—essays by Visitors

People have been writing since Mesopotamia. Why? Essays published in this feature are original works created by visitors to Electricka's web site that address the question why write?

about this feature—Why people write; why people should write

People write fictional or non-fictional literature today as they have written down through the ages. Yet writing can be a daunting task. Why should words run ceaselessly through our heads? Why should people take up the challenge of the pen? What do they hope to achieve, gain, or give thereby? What is the mysterious origin of this urge to write?

Why write? What drives many of us to put words on paper?

There is virtually no end to the reasons why people write and to why they should write. Seen from a practical perspective, many write to control or to operate or to improve society or the quality of life (theirs and others); many write to make money, to run a business, or a household.

Some write expository prose to disseminate facts and information; others write fictional or non-fictional literature to be creative—to fantasize, imagine, dream, or to express their creative ideas and opinions or those of others. Still others write to relish the elegance or sound or clarity of language, or to revel in the beauty of the spoken word or to inspire. Others write to reach out, to share, to commune with people or with nature; still others to express themselves—heaven only knows why or to whom.

At a general level, the answer to this question why write? may seem fairly straightforward. Yet even here answers will vary according to the type of writing, the era, the time in a writer's life, historical and personal circumstances, and many additional factors. A full answer to this question may change during a writer's life or according to where or when or to whom he writes. A single or narrow answer often doesn't reveal the knowledge we seek; a complete answer still eludes us.

Often we don't even always know all the questions to ask, or the right questions. There's a full spectrum of questions and answers that come to mind once the basic and obvious questions are asked and answered. Here are just a few examples:

• What does a writer feel like before writing a piece, while writing, and afterward?
• What are the personal pitfalls a writer faces and why does he struggle with them?
• What are the internal rewards?

Many of these kinds of questions touch upon subtle, perplexing, complicated issues. They run so deep, many of them remain hidden in the recesses of a writer's psyche, where only occasionally are they rubbed up against by the writer; or they may remain completely undetected and unknown. Issues, questions, and answers like these often plague serious writers and some of their serious readers; they linger beyond our collective grasp, and perhaps always will.

If you doubt that mysteries lurk within writers' minds, ponder these two quotations about their writing that emanate from the pens of two great authors:

—note— Ponder further These two quotations appear at the page at Electricka's web site that welcomes visitors to The Muse Of Literature's feature on Literature. Once there, you can ponder and explore some of the mysteries surrounding literature and those who write literature. Visit The Muse Of Literature's page called The Muse Of Literature Welcomes You: click here.

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read original visitor essays on the subject why write?

The Muse Of Language Arts and the Muse Of Literature realize that we'll never have all the answers to why people write or to why they should write, but they believe that that fact shouldn't discourage us from looking for them. The search itself is an entertaining, rewarding, and insight-producing exercise.

That's why The Muse Of Language Arts and The Muse Of Literature have extended a permanent invitation to Electricka's visitors to submit essays on this subject that she can publish at Electricka's web site.

Now they jointly extend a permanent invitation to you to read these essays at The Muse Of Language Arts page called Publish Your Essay. Whatever the nature of your reading interests, the muses think you'll find them worthy of your attention.

• Explore visitor essays on the subject Why Write? now at the feature called Publish Your Essay: click here.

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publish your own essay on the subject why write?

Have you written an original essay on the subject of Why Write? Would you like to write one for publication at Electricka's web site?

The Muse Of Language Arts and The Muse Of Literature jointly invite you to write and submit an essay on the subject of why write. They urge you to write and publish your essay no matter where the nature of your writing interest lies. Your work doesn't have to be a masterpiece. You don't have to be a professional writer or be previously published and you don't have to have studied writing.

Join the ranks of the likes of Charles Lamb, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thomas Carlyle, and thousands of others who have written and published their original essays.

• Your essay will be published at The Muse Of Language Arts feature called Publish Your Essay. Visit this feature now: click here.

read other original non-fiction works authored by Electricka's visitors

If you enjoy reading non-fiction expository prose, you may want to read works written by visitors to Electricka's web site on a variety of topics other than why write.

• Read other other non-fiction expository prose works written by visitors to Electricka's web site. Visit The Muse Of Language Arts feature called Publish Your Essay: click here.

writing right and the writing right users page

Writing Right^© is an ETAF app product that makes it easier to catch and correct all sorts of writing mistakes and to improve style while you are writing or editing. If you are interested in facilitating or improving your own writing or that of others, you may benefit from exploring what Writing Right can do for you.

• Explore Writing Right. Visit Electricka's page called Writing Right Product Description: click here.

The Writing Right^© User's page is the place at Electricka's web site dedicated to serving those who use Writing Right as their personal writing assistant.

• If you are interested in the writer's craft or are considering acquiring Writing Write to assist you with your writing, you may wish to explore what the Writing Right Users page can do for you. Visit The Muse Of Language Arts page called the Writing Right Users page: click here.

writer's discussion group

The Muse Of Language Arts offers a writer's discussion group at Electricka's Forums. There you can discuss essays on the subject why write? as well as any other relevant subjects.

• Visit The Muse Of Language Arts Writer's Discussion Group now: click here.

why read?

Of what use are writers without readers? Of what use are readers without writers? Readers are the other half the writing-reading team. Indeed, most writers tend to be avid readers, and many avid readers like to write. If you belong to either camp, you may want to explore why the other half of the team reads.

• Read about reading. Explore some of the reasons that explain why people should and do read. Visit The Muse of Literature's essay at the feature called Why Read? click here.

While you're there, you'll find out how you can read visitor essays on the subject why read, and you'll learn how you can publish your original essay on this subject.

professional writing and documentation services

Want topflight professional writing or documentation services at a reasonable cost?

• For more information: click here.

ETAF Recommends

Here are five books on the subject Why Write? written by writers, thinkers, and doers, past and present. See what they have to say.

The first book below is by the renowned English writer George Orwell, who gives his personal insights into why he writes; number two is by a professional American writer who is in touch with what's going on among important contemporary writers; the third book is about practical, everyday writing and why everyone does it and should do it; the next book explains why screenwriters write for film despite the many disappointments and frustrations they face; and the fifth book is about important poets and their views about poetry's value and worth, even though there is so little contemporary interest in it compared with the past.

ETAF recommends Writing Right.

Writing Right is an ETAF program product that makes it easy to catch and correct all sorts of writing mistakes. Fix them while you are writing or editing. It also helps you to a better writing style.

• More about Writing Right: click here.

The Writing Right White Paper is a free white paper that explains the theory behind Writing Right.

• More about the Writing Right White Paper: click here.