Read Orwell's essay "Why I Write," which is available online as well as in the class handout. Respond to it with comments on why
you write. Is it for the same reasons Orwell cites? Your comments are due Wednesday, March 13, 4 p.m.
When I started to think about why I write, the first two things I ever wrote independently came to mind. Well, actually, around age 6, my dad and I composed a short song called “Horses in the Rain,” and recorded it, but I don’t think that counts. At age 9, I wrote a poem called “Ocean Breeze” after a trip to California with my mom, aunt, and cousin to see my other aunt. I had loved the beach and the experience so much that I didn’t want to leave, and upon returning home decided I needed to write about it. I showed it to my teacher and it was published in a book for kids called “A Celebration of Young Poets.” I remember how excited I had been to be a fifth grader and a published author. At age 11, I wrote a poem called “Unforgettable,” dedicated to my mom, who had passed away the year before. I showed it to my dad and it circulated around my family, and of course everyone told me how touching it was, but this time I hadn’t done it for the fame. Since then, writing for me has definitely come out of a combination of things Orwell talks about, including egoism and aesthetic enthusiasm. I love to string words together and see if I hear a new, beautiful sound, and I would love for other people to find something worthwhile in what I write. But more than that, writing is the framework for how I understand my life and myself. With a pen and paper, I can let my guard down and be honest about the feelings I often try to run from or ignore. My ultimate hope for my writing is that it will evolve into having historical and political purpose. I do still believe writing will keep some part of me immortal, like us writers tend to.
I've always considered my life and my state of being to be rather ordinary, but I've always felt I have something to write about. When it comes to me personally, I think I seek the extraordinary in the ordinary. I attempt to find purpose or understanding in small things because I believe the way I say it is unique. I've always thought that in my writing I could write something that many can't put into words, but once I did, everyone would understand. That's where I can get ranty and political and human rights-y, but it's always sincere. My writing has certainly evolved a lot. I used to be into poetry and short stories, and now I like to write the truth, whether creatively or not. I find that it reaches other people while also giving me some sort of fufillment.
On the outside (and most of the inside) I am an extremely optimistic, loving, hopeful, hard-working person, BUT there is this severely tortured writer alter-ego inside me that comes out in dark posts on a blog that I'm still trying to figure out the reason for.
So, you could say I write in moments of response. In response to emotion, to a dream, to someone wronged, to love, to social ideas, to assignments. But writing is my way of having a conversation with many things one cannot necessarily have a conversation with (like a dream).
And I think that Orwell and I share a purpose that I only recently discovered. That I can still create beautiful and honest writing, while writing politically, or from being motivated by something tangible or truthful.
I never considered myself an actual writer until I came to college and realized that journalism, and the act of writing was what I wanted to pursue. When I was younger I would dabble here and there, writing short stories or narratives about various things that would happen in my life or throughout my day. As I got older, I got busy, and didn’t focus on writing as much. Then, once I got to college and started my degree in journalism I realized that writing truthful, important stories, about real life incidents was the kind of writing I wanted to continue to pursue. I feel that the majority of the writing I hunt for is based on events that occur both on a large and small scale. I then write about these events so people can be informed and knowledgeable. The news is not always reliable with stories that are important and relevant to individual’s lives, so I feel as a journalist that is my job - to follow up with these different stories and then write them for the public, or anyone who is truly interested. I understand that in today’s generation people are lazy and don’t always feel that everything is important, but by grabbing their attention through a story that does hold truthfulness, the point I am trying to get across can be achieved. Like Orwell, I consider this passion for writing my “historical impulse, the desire to see things as they are and to find out true facts and store them up for the use of posterity.” If I can achieve this throughout my life then I will feel accomplished and know that what I was trying to do was successful.
In terms of Orwell’s reasons, I would say that depending on what I’m writing I’ve written for all of those reasons. Journalistic writing is definitely historical impulse, because we are gathering and reporting the facts for today and future generations. As far as political purpose, I have written poems that have been politically and socially charged, especially women’s rights. In terms of aesthetic enthusiasm, I would honestly say that this is one of the most important to me. My prose is often verging on prose-poem, and I love the aesthetic and stylistic processes of writing. “Pleasure in the impact of one sound on another, in the firmness of good prose or the rhythm of a good story” and “desire to share an experience which one feels is valuable and ought not to be missed” is probably the most close to my writing philosophy. There’s a fine line between thinking too much and not enough about aesthetics and good writing walks that line. I also believe that any writer who says they’re not at least a little egotistical or narcissistic is lying. Unless you only write in your journal, we write because we want others to read. We want feedback—good or bad. We just want to know that people are reading and reacting. But most of all, at least for me, I want people to understand. I want them to read my writing and not only understand what I’m saying, but, in a way, who I am.
I agree with Carolyn that what you're writing for depends on what you're writing about. Each article, poem, creative writing piece, and so on serves a different purpose, and what your goal is, should reflect that purpose.
Lately, though, I find that my writing has a political purpose. I believe everyone should hold their own opinions, and not be forced to believe what another believes or tells them to believe. However, I do like to bring my own opinions into my writing so my audience can perhaps see things from a different perspective. For example, I recently wrote a column in The Oracle about Lance Armstrong and his doping scandal. I find that a lot of people think what Armstrong did was wrong, that there's no excuse for what he did and that he doesn't deserve his seven medals; however, I feel the opposite and while I feel everyone is entitled to their own opinions, I did like to shed a new light on the situation.
I write when I feel a strong emotion. It can be happy, sad, anxiety, fear, love, hate, loathing and it can even be boredom in which I write mundanely about life. I write mostly for aesthetic reasons, I think. I am excruciatingly detail oriented and I prefer to take one small scene or movement and make it into something bigger. I will describe with flowery language that boarders on poetry. I write for my own pleasure and I honestly don't real care if others like it or not. To me, describing how someone's hand brushes hair off their face can be turned into an absolutely beautiful moment. I do, however, agree with Orwell's other 3 writing motives and see them clearly present in many other writers I know. Ironically, I love reading political prose or poetry even though I really hate hearing about politics. I think if I could write politically, I probably would, but I don't think i have a very good grasp on the concepts.
To start with, I know Prof G said this was a well-known essay but I had never read it before. I think it's so great.
Of Orwell's four great motives for writing, all seem possible or likely at some point in our lives. I agree with his taking into account the changing world and mental state of the writer. However, I would argue that the 4 don't necessarily have to war against one another ever. Another interesting point is his use of a person's "nature" to mean "the state you have attained when you are first adult." I think it's more like a combination of who you were raised as and the combination of your experiences. When do you exactly 'become an adult'??
Anywho, after reading the essay and the description under #1, Sheer Egoism, I started to think about what Orwell said, "after the age of about thirty [most people] almost abandon the sense of being individuals at all --and live chiefly for others, or are simply smothered under drudgery." My desire to be the opposite of that description must be a part of one of the reasons why I want to write. I can't say definitively but writing, especially journalism, is some heavenly combination of doing everything or doing nothing, experiencing things for yourself and learning about them through others (even characters you create or re-live through memory) and having no voice or speaking your voice to everyone. Confusing but I think it's true.
Why i write...well its hard to say exactly why i write. I write because i am bored or angry or need to make sense of the shit in life. I am not saying life is shit and writing just is an escape but that is exactly what i am saying. I started writing because i wanted a way to put my thoughts down and it hasn't changed much since then. My language has changed as well as my experiences but writing will always be writing. After i write i typically destroy what i wrote because once those thoughts are put down on paper they seem pitiful and useless. Pathetic comes to mind. I only keep a handful of memorable works because they are vague and convey several emotions rather than one specific instance in time. I find that my writing is pointless and doesn't fill some greater need but rather fills the shallow pits of one individual. Orwell is on to something though. I read works from writers from time to time and sometimes i can tell which of the four points they fulfill in Orwell s perspective. You can feel who they are really writing for. I mean i like to think that my perspective can be for the greater good but in reality I know I write only for myself. I write because escaping on paper is a more rational solution then running away from life. I don't have many of my old works,like a said i rip them up. I don't think my personal writing is worth much of anything. The writing i do for classes is just that. I most likely squeeze them out for other people and this is not typically too genuine in my eyes. Yes, most of the time i get overtly invested in my subjects but to be a good journalist you have to have an arms length away from any of those connections. I am far to emotional but only on paper and more progressively only for myself.
I was immediately taken with Orwell's essay. I started writing when I was very young, and storytelling even earlier than that. My reason for starting to write is similar to Orwell's, as I was a middle child myself. I have two brothers, and while they would bond over “boy things,” I would find myself very lonely and would sometimes feel inadequate for not pursuing similar interests to them. Writing would create this escape where I could leave my negative feelings out of the picture and would allow me to value myself when in reality, I felt undervalued by my peers and teachers. As a student, my older brother and I had some of the same teachers and I know they compared the two of us.
I think aside from the fact that all writers are narcissistic and have an ego, the current generation of up-and-coming writers is very narcissistic. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have allowed everyone to become a writer, and everyone believes that what we write is worth the attention.
I thoroughly enjoy writing, plain and simple. I think we all write for something. I write because it is easier for me to convey my thoughts and emotions through writing then talking. I don't know why this is. Maybe it's because I have more time to think and react through writing then in verbal communication. I don't know. This has been something that has been running through my brain for years. I have always been more of a creative writer. I have written numerous screenplays, poems, and short stories. I like Journalism, but outside of my love for sports and sports writing I really do not have much interest in any other kind. Though I am well informed, I have never been one for politics or crime news. It feels to one-sided and cut throat for me. I know that if I don't get a job as a sports writer, I don't want to be a journalist, which is a scary thought since it is my major. I'd rather open up a bar or something. One thing I do know is I will never stop writing, even if it might just be for my own enjoyment.
I whole heartedly agree with the egoism part of Orwell's essay. I would love to have my work published and seem clever to those who are reading it. I think everyone goes through life wanting to stick it to the people who put them down. Constantly through my life I was told I would not amount to anything. With all my heart I just want to be successful in this life. I want people to look at me as a success. Isn't that what everyone wants? You should want to be remembered for something. I know I do. Let it be from my writing or any other profession.
I have been writing since I first learned what words were, but I don't believe Orwell and I write for the same reason. For starters, I don't have one singular, overwhelming reason why I write--on the most basic level, I write because I write, because I love it and want to excel at it. While I do believe that some of my writing follows what Orwell would call the "historical impulse" or desire to see things for what they are, that isn't always the reason I write either. I am a middle child from a family of athletes and soldiers; one of my earliest reasons for writing was expressing my love of things like art or novels or fantasy, all things that I couldn't talk about or debate with anybody because no one was as interested or invested as I was. One of my principle reasons for writing now is to share my perspective, which is something that I suppose could be considered an Orwellian idea. While I agree with much of what Orwell states in this piece about his reason for writing, I think that I am unable to see many parallels between his reason and my own because as yet, my reasons are always fluctuating.
Well, the "sheer egoism" part definitely. I write, mostly, because I'm pretty sure that my imaginings have some value that the imaginings of a lot of other people don't. I write because I think that any flashes of what I think are brilliance should be written down, documented, and expanded upon. In fact, I'm so damn sure that my ideas and thoughts and mental settings are of such high quality that it would be doing a disservice to the world to not write them down. And I guess most of us write for that reason, because we're confident in what we can do. I also very much agree that leaving behind a work of decent literature after you shuffle off to the great beyond is a nice way of ensuring that you'll be remembered for awhile after you croak.
Also, definitely agreed with the aesthetics thing. When I write creatively I adopt a style that I think is unique, that appeals especially to me. I try to write beautifully. We all try to write beautifully. Trying to wring the poetry out of any situation, I think, is one of the cornerstones of being a good prose writer. I'm probably rambling and I've started too many sentences with 'I.'
Orwell forgets a fifth reason to write, though, that I wrestle with all the time: not being good enough at math and science to squeeze a career out of anything but the written word.
I definitely recognized my younger years in Orwell's essay. I wrote because, like him, I was lonely, and because people praising my writing made me feel good, as though people were actually paying attention to me. I always told myself stories in some form or other, just as Orwell describes narrating his life as though it were a novel in his head, but I only started writing them down when my fourth grade teacher told me that a narrative piece I'd written about a class trip had a real "voice." The complement made me happy, and I started crafting stories of my own, even if they borrowed heavily from the fantasy novels I was enamored with at the time. I wrote because I preferred the company of words to people, because novels and notebooks were what was there for me when I felt (selfishly) ignored as my sister went through high school and college and everyone seemed to want to talk to her and not to me. I still have some of that egoism, that feeling that writing is the one thing I have that's truly mine. Writing has helped me work through feelings I don't understand and feelings I did understand and wanted to be rid of, and while I'm no longer entirely certain if I want to seek publication of my fiction as I used to when I was a child, I'm more than happy with writing for just myself, writing because I want to.
A lot of my first experiences writing when I was younger was through journals, which perhaps is not what we immediately think of when we think about writing, but still holds a lot of weight in the reason why I write. Writing always felt natural to me, like something I had to do and I honestly didn't know for a while that not everyone felt that same impulse and need. I recently cleaned out my bookcase at home and unearthed at least 8 different journals from middle school and high school, when I told my mom about it she told me she always knew I would write and my younger sister had never kept a journal. I think there's actually a lot to that. I write because I feel that I express myself better in written words and appreciate the power they hold on a page. The reason I write and am interested in creative non-fiction writing really does stem from the idea of keeping a journal. By keeping journals I was able to record my feelings and experiences and to reflect on them and get this release from it. With writing in this genre, I aim to share my experiences in the way I feel most comfortable and best at, so that I can reflect on them, take something bigger from it and put it out for someone else. My goal is for someone else to read my work and come away with something new and informative or helpful and to hopefully somehow relate.
The reason why I write is something I have always struggled to define. Maybe because I do not write for just one reason. Orwell says sheer egoism drives a writer and I agree with that. Because writers would not write unless they had something important to say. And the idea of others being able to connect and identify with something that is not there own is such an attractive thought to me. I want to be able to change peoples minds. I want to be able to inform those who know nothing on a subject so much so that when they are finished reading whatever it is, they want to know more. I write to make people feel something new. One of my favorite purposes is for aesthetics. The way Orwell explains it is quite accurate in my eyes because sometimes I will find a certain phrase with so much meaning that I must write it down and expand and bring it out of it’s shell. The beauty of writing is something that cannot be matched and along with that comes new understandings. The way words mesh together to create a whole story is very important to me and as I progress as a writer I can see the idea evolve and take shape in different ways. Orwell’s definition of historical impulse is something that I can connect with in some ways but not others. I thoroughly enjoy taking all the facts that I can and implanting them into a bed of writing so that it can have a greater meaning. But the action can be somewhat boring if the subject is not worth it. I would need a certain subject that has such importance that it would be a tragedy if I did not do my best in compiling these bits of true information. Orwell’s idea of political writing is what drives me more than the others. It is the idea of being able to completely change the minds of a society and through writing, shift the opinion of others. Now, politics can be very messy and though I have dabbled in it’s writing, I would not dedicate my life to it. At least not at this point in my life. I knew I was going to become a writer when I was a child. My mind was so hungry for information that I would finish entire books in just one day. I knew that one day I wanted to be someone that could do this. Someone that could create something so interesting that others would crave it. They would want it so badly and at times not be able to put the book down. It could change someone’s perspective within a couple of moments and change something inside of them. I write to create an interest for others. The power in that is something that I will always strive for and with time, my evolution as a writer will make that goal even easier to accomplish.
Even today, it's hard for me to say confidently to myself "I'm a writer." I know I love to write, but when I sit down with myself at the kitchen table of life, and stare deeply into my blameless eyes, I can’t hold back the honesty. “I'm an artist,” I tell myself. But I’m not buying it yet. “Ok” I’ll say to myself as I intensify the stare “I know you compulsively doodle and write songs, but you can’t just call yourself an ‘artist’. What makes you any different from all the other doodlers and dittyers?” My reply to myself is this: “Dude. #1 Screw you! #2 Why are you trying to sound cool and intellectual for the maybe 1-3 people who will read this? Its late anyway.. #3 Did you really just write ‘diddyers’? Kinda shot yourself in the foot there if you wanted to achieve #2, and #4 You know I’m/were an artist you self-conscious because not- everyone-calls- you- special / egotistical because you- want- to- be- called- special ASSHOLE! You know you feel it in your bones, in your stomach, what more do you need? ” It’s hard to deny these artistic impulses, the impulse to want to be different, but I’m not sure it’s always egotistical. I’m an absurdist, I get bored by things as they are, the way we continuously operate, lots of us, shunning little benign behaviors that are out of the ordinary. I hold people with panty buns in contempt. The conformist aspects of our society disgust me. Mine is common rhetoric in our society and especially of many Millennials, but don’t belittle me or my friends who have artistic or culturally innovative aspirations and might have unique taste in music, clothes, art, or sexual partners, by calling us all ‘hipsters’ because you feel the need to categorize things and have even less synaptic action when you think about people. I’m not a hipster. I’m not an artist. I’m not a writer. I’m just tired of this shit. That’s why I write.
19 comments:
When I started to think about why I write, the first two things I ever wrote independently came to mind. Well, actually, around age 6, my dad and I composed a short song called “Horses in the Rain,” and recorded it, but I don’t think that counts. At age 9, I wrote a poem called “Ocean Breeze” after a trip to California with my mom, aunt, and cousin to see my other aunt. I had loved the beach and the experience so much that I didn’t want to leave, and upon returning home decided I needed to write about it. I showed it to my teacher and it was published in a book for kids called “A Celebration of Young Poets.” I remember how excited I had been to be a fifth grader and a published author. At age 11, I wrote a poem called “Unforgettable,” dedicated to my mom, who had passed away the year before. I showed it to my dad and it circulated around my family, and of course everyone told me how touching it was, but this time I hadn’t done it for the fame. Since then, writing for me has definitely come out of a combination of things Orwell talks about, including egoism and aesthetic enthusiasm. I love to string words together and see if I hear a new, beautiful sound, and I would love for other people to find something worthwhile in what I write. But more than that, writing is the framework for how I understand my life and myself. With a pen and paper, I can let my guard down and be honest about the feelings I often try to run from or ignore. My ultimate hope for my writing is that it will evolve into having historical and political purpose. I do still believe writing will keep some part of me immortal, like us writers tend to.
I've always considered my life and my state of being to be rather ordinary, but I've always felt I have something to write about. When it comes to me personally, I think I seek the extraordinary in the ordinary. I attempt to find purpose or understanding in small things because I believe the way I say it is unique. I've always thought that in my writing I could write something that many can't put into words, but once I did, everyone would understand. That's where I can get ranty and political and human rights-y, but it's always sincere. My writing has certainly evolved a lot. I used to be into poetry and short stories, and now I like to write the truth, whether creatively or not. I find that it reaches other people while also giving me some sort of fufillment.
On the outside (and most of the inside) I am an extremely optimistic, loving, hopeful, hard-working person, BUT there is this severely tortured writer alter-ego inside me that comes out in dark posts on a blog that I'm still trying to figure out the reason for.
So, you could say I write in moments of response. In response to emotion, to a dream, to someone wronged, to love, to social ideas, to assignments. But writing is my way of having a conversation with many things one cannot necessarily have a conversation with (like a dream).
And I think that Orwell and I share a purpose that I only recently discovered. That I can still create beautiful and honest writing, while writing politically, or from being motivated by something tangible or truthful.
I never considered myself an actual writer until I came to college and realized that journalism, and the act of writing was what I wanted to pursue. When I was younger I would dabble here and there, writing short stories or narratives about various things that would happen in my life or throughout my day. As I got older, I got busy, and didn’t focus on writing as much. Then, once I got to college and started my degree in journalism I realized that writing truthful, important stories, about real life incidents was the kind of writing I wanted to continue to pursue. I feel that the majority of the writing I hunt for is based on events that occur both on a large and small scale. I then write about these events so people can be informed and knowledgeable. The news is not always reliable with stories that are important and relevant to individual’s lives, so I feel as a journalist that is my job - to follow up with these different stories and then write them for the public, or anyone who is truly interested. I understand that in today’s generation people are lazy and don’t always feel that everything is important, but by grabbing their attention through a story that does hold truthfulness, the point I am trying to get across can be achieved. Like Orwell, I consider this passion for writing my “historical impulse, the desire to see things as they are and to find out true facts and store them up for the use of posterity.” If I can achieve this throughout my life then I will feel accomplished and know that what I was trying to do was successful.
I can’t remember exactly when I started writing, which I guess is nice in a way, because I can’t remember a time when I didn’t write. It has always felt like something engrained in me. It sounds cliché, but writing is catharsis for me. There is nothing better than capturing and writing down the phrase that has been running around your head for a few days. I also think I am more honest in my writing than I am in real life, because the paper doesn’t judge you. Writing isn’t just cerebral for me—I have physical reactions when I find the right word or the perfect pithy ending for a poem. I think when you love writing you love it with your whole body.
In terms of Orwell’s reasons, I would say that depending on what I’m writing I’ve written for all of those reasons. Journalistic writing is definitely historical impulse, because we are gathering and reporting the facts for today and future generations. As far as political purpose, I have written poems that have been politically and socially charged, especially women’s rights. In terms of aesthetic enthusiasm, I would honestly say that this is one of the most important to me. My prose is often verging on prose-poem, and I love the aesthetic and stylistic processes of writing. “Pleasure in the impact of one sound on another, in the firmness of good prose or the rhythm of a good story” and “desire to share an experience which one feels is valuable and ought not to be missed” is probably the most close to my writing philosophy. There’s a fine line between thinking too much and not enough about aesthetics and good writing walks that line. I also believe that any writer who says they’re not at least a little egotistical or narcissistic is lying. Unless you only write in your journal, we write because we want others to read. We want feedback—good or bad. We just want to know that people are reading and reacting. But most of all, at least for me, I want people to understand. I want them to read my writing and not only understand what I’m saying, but, in a way, who I am.
I agree with Carolyn that what you're writing for depends on what you're writing about. Each article, poem, creative writing piece, and so on serves a different purpose, and what your goal is, should reflect that purpose.
Lately, though, I find that my writing has a political purpose. I believe everyone should hold their own opinions, and not be forced to believe what another believes or tells them to believe. However, I do like to bring my own opinions into my writing so my audience can perhaps see things from a different perspective. For example, I recently wrote a column in The Oracle about Lance Armstrong and his doping scandal. I find that a lot of people think what Armstrong did was wrong, that there's no excuse for what he did and that he doesn't deserve his seven medals; however, I feel the opposite and while I feel everyone is entitled to their own opinions, I did like to shed a new light on the situation.
I write when I feel a strong emotion. It can be happy, sad, anxiety, fear, love, hate, loathing and it can even be boredom in which I write mundanely about life. I write mostly for aesthetic reasons, I think. I am excruciatingly detail oriented and I prefer to take one small scene or movement and make it into something bigger. I will describe with flowery language that boarders on poetry. I write for my own pleasure and I honestly don't real care if others like it or not. To me, describing how someone's hand brushes hair off their face can be turned into an absolutely beautiful moment. I do, however, agree with Orwell's other 3 writing motives and see them clearly present in many other writers I know. Ironically, I love reading political prose or poetry even though I really hate hearing about politics. I think if I could write politically, I probably would, but I don't think i have a very good grasp on the concepts.
To start with, I know Prof G said this was a well-known essay but I had never read it before. I think it's so great.
Of Orwell's four great motives for writing, all seem possible or likely at some point in our lives. I agree with his taking into account the changing world and mental state of the writer. However, I would argue that the 4 don't necessarily have to war against one another ever. Another interesting point is his use of a person's "nature" to mean "the state you have attained when you are first adult." I think it's more like a combination of who you were raised as and the combination of your experiences. When do you exactly 'become an adult'??
Anywho, after reading the essay and the description under #1, Sheer Egoism, I started to think about what Orwell said, "after the age of about thirty [most people] almost abandon the sense of being individuals at all --and live chiefly for others, or are simply smothered under drudgery." My desire to be the opposite of that description must be a part of one of the reasons why I want to write. I can't say definitively but writing, especially journalism, is some heavenly combination of doing everything or doing nothing, experiencing things for yourself and learning about them through others (even characters you create or re-live through memory) and having no voice or speaking your voice to everyone. Confusing but I think it's true.
Why i write...well its hard to say exactly why i write. I write because i am bored or angry or need to make sense of the shit in life. I am not saying life is shit and writing just is an escape but that is exactly what i am saying. I started writing because i wanted a way to put my thoughts down and it hasn't changed much since then. My language has changed as well as my experiences but writing will always be writing. After i write i typically destroy what i wrote because once those thoughts are put down on paper they seem pitiful and useless. Pathetic comes to mind. I only keep a handful of memorable works because they are vague and convey several emotions rather than one specific instance in time. I find that my writing is pointless and doesn't fill some greater need but rather fills the shallow pits of one individual. Orwell is on to something though. I read works from writers from time to time and sometimes i can tell which of the four points they fulfill in Orwell s perspective. You can feel who they are really writing for. I mean i like to think that my perspective can be for the greater good but in reality I know I write only for myself. I write because escaping on paper is a more rational solution then running away from life. I don't have many of my old works,like a said i rip them up. I don't think my personal writing is worth much of anything. The writing i do for classes is just that. I most likely squeeze them out for other people and this is not typically too genuine in my eyes. Yes, most of the time i get overtly invested in my subjects but to be a good journalist you have to have an arms length away from any of those connections. I am far to emotional but only on paper and more progressively only for myself.
I was immediately taken with Orwell's essay. I started writing when I was very young, and storytelling even earlier than that. My reason for starting to write is similar to Orwell's, as I was a middle child myself. I have two brothers, and while they would bond over “boy things,” I would find myself very lonely and would sometimes feel inadequate for not pursuing similar interests to them. Writing would create this escape where I could leave my negative feelings out of the picture and would allow me to value myself when in reality, I felt undervalued by my peers and teachers. As a student, my older brother and I had some of the same teachers and I know they compared the two of us.
I think aside from the fact that all writers are narcissistic and have an ego, the current generation of up-and-coming writers is very narcissistic. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have allowed everyone to become a writer, and everyone believes that what we write is worth the attention.
I thoroughly enjoy writing, plain and simple. I think we all write for something. I write because it is easier for me to convey my thoughts and emotions through writing then talking. I don't know why this is. Maybe it's because I have more time to think and react through writing then in verbal communication. I don't know. This has been something that has been running through my brain for years. I have always been more of a creative writer. I have written numerous screenplays, poems, and short stories. I like Journalism, but outside of my love for sports and sports writing I really do not have much interest in any other kind. Though I am well informed, I have never been one for politics or crime news. It feels to one-sided and cut throat for me. I know that if I don't get a job as a sports writer, I don't want to be a journalist, which is a scary thought since it is my major. I'd rather open up a bar or something. One thing I do know is I will never stop writing, even if it might just be for my own enjoyment.
I whole heartedly agree with the egoism part of Orwell's essay. I would love to have my work published and seem clever to those who are reading it. I think everyone goes through life wanting to stick it to the people who put them down. Constantly through my life I was told I would not amount to anything. With all my heart I just want to be successful in this life. I want people to look at me as a success. Isn't that what everyone wants? You should want to be remembered for something. I know I do. Let it be from my writing or any other profession.
I have been writing since I first learned what words were, but I don't believe Orwell and I write for the same reason. For starters, I don't have one singular, overwhelming reason why I write--on the most basic level, I write because I write, because I love it and want to excel at it. While I do believe that some of my writing follows what Orwell would call the "historical impulse" or desire to see things for what they are, that isn't always the reason I write either. I am a middle child from a family of athletes and soldiers; one of my earliest reasons for writing was expressing my love of things like art or novels or fantasy, all things that I couldn't talk about or debate with anybody because no one was as interested or invested as I was. One of my principle reasons for writing now is to share my perspective, which is something that I suppose could be considered an Orwellian idea. While I agree with much of what Orwell states in this piece about his reason for writing, I think that I am unable to see many parallels between his reason and my own because as yet, my reasons are always fluctuating.
Well, the "sheer egoism" part definitely. I write, mostly, because I'm pretty sure that my imaginings have some value that the imaginings of a lot of other people don't. I write because I think that any flashes of what I think are brilliance should be written down, documented, and expanded upon. In fact, I'm so damn sure that my ideas and thoughts and mental settings are of such high quality that it would be doing a disservice to the world to not write them down. And I guess most of us write for that reason, because we're confident in what we can do. I also very much agree that leaving behind a work of decent literature after you shuffle off to the great beyond is a nice way of ensuring that you'll be remembered for awhile after you croak.
Also, definitely agreed with the aesthetics thing. When I write creatively I adopt a style that I think is unique, that appeals especially to me. I try to write beautifully. We all try to write beautifully. Trying to wring the poetry out of any situation, I think, is one of the cornerstones of being a good prose writer. I'm probably rambling and I've started too many sentences with 'I.'
Orwell forgets a fifth reason to write, though, that I wrestle with all the time: not being good enough at math and science to squeeze a career out of anything but the written word.
I definitely recognized my younger years in Orwell's essay. I wrote because, like him, I was lonely, and because people praising my writing made me feel good, as though people were actually paying attention to me. I always told myself stories in some form or other, just as Orwell describes narrating his life as though it were a novel in his head, but I only started writing them down when my fourth grade teacher told me that a narrative piece I'd written about a class trip had a real "voice." The complement made me happy, and I started crafting stories of my own, even if they borrowed heavily from the fantasy novels I was enamored with at the time. I wrote because I preferred the company of words to people, because novels and notebooks were what was there for me when I felt (selfishly) ignored as my sister went through high school and college and everyone seemed to want to talk to her and not to me. I still have some of that egoism, that feeling that writing is the one thing I have that's truly mine. Writing has helped me work through feelings I don't understand and feelings I did understand and wanted to be rid of, and while I'm no longer entirely certain if I want to seek publication of my fiction as I used to when I was a child, I'm more than happy with writing for just myself, writing because I want to.
A lot of my first experiences writing when I was younger was through journals, which perhaps is not what we immediately think of when we think about writing, but still holds a lot of weight in the reason why I write. Writing always felt natural to me, like something I had to do and I honestly didn't know for a while that not everyone felt that same impulse and need. I recently cleaned out my bookcase at home and unearthed at least 8 different journals from middle school and high school, when I told my mom about it she told me she always knew I would write and my younger sister had never kept a journal. I think there's actually a lot to that. I write because I feel that I express myself better in written words and appreciate the power they hold on a page. The reason I write and am interested in creative non-fiction writing really does stem from the idea of keeping a journal. By keeping journals I was able to record my feelings and experiences and to reflect on them and get this release from it. With writing in this genre, I aim to share my experiences in the way I feel most comfortable and best at, so that I can reflect on them, take something bigger from it and put it out for someone else. My goal is for someone else to read my work and come away with something new and informative or helpful and to hopefully somehow relate.
The reason why I write is something I have always struggled to define. Maybe because I do not write for just one reason. Orwell says sheer egoism drives a writer and I agree with that. Because writers would not write unless they had something important to say. And the idea of others being able to connect and identify with something that is not there own is such an attractive thought to me. I want to be able to change peoples minds. I want to be able to inform those who know nothing on a subject so much so that when they are finished reading whatever it is, they want to know more. I write to make people feel something new. One of my favorite purposes is for aesthetics. The way Orwell explains it is quite accurate in my eyes because sometimes I will find a certain phrase with so much meaning that I must write it down and expand and bring it out of it’s shell. The beauty of writing is something that cannot be matched and along with that comes new understandings. The way words mesh together to create a whole story is very important to me and as I progress as a writer I can see the idea evolve and take shape in different ways. Orwell’s definition of historical impulse is something that I can connect with in some ways but not others. I thoroughly enjoy taking all the facts that I can and implanting them into a bed of writing so that it can have a greater meaning. But the action can be somewhat boring if the subject is not worth it. I would need a certain subject that has such importance that it would be a tragedy if I did not do my best in compiling these bits of true information. Orwell’s idea of political writing is what drives me more than the others. It is the idea of being able to completely change the minds of a society and through writing, shift the opinion of others. Now, politics can be very messy and though I have dabbled in it’s writing, I would not dedicate my life to it. At least not at this point in my life. I knew I was going to become a writer when I was a child. My mind was so hungry for information that I would finish entire books in just one day. I knew that one day I wanted to be someone that could do this. Someone that could create something so interesting that others would crave it. They would want it so badly and at times not be able to put the book down. It could change someone’s perspective within a couple of moments and change something inside of them. I write to create an interest for others. The power in that is something that I will always strive for and with time, my evolution as a writer will make that goal even easier to accomplish.
Even today, it's hard for me to say confidently to myself "I'm a writer." I know I love to write, but when I sit down with myself at the kitchen table of life, and stare deeply into my blameless eyes, I can’t hold back the honesty. “I'm an artist,” I tell myself. But I’m not buying it yet. “Ok” I’ll say to myself as I intensify the stare “I know you compulsively doodle and write songs, but you can’t just call yourself an ‘artist’. What makes you any different from all the other doodlers and dittyers?” My reply to myself is this: “Dude. #1 Screw you! #2 Why are you trying to sound cool and intellectual for the maybe 1-3 people who will read this? Its late anyway.. #3 Did you really just write ‘diddyers’? Kinda shot yourself in the foot there if you wanted to achieve #2, and #4 You know I’m/were an artist you self-conscious because not- everyone-calls- you- special / egotistical because you- want- to- be- called- special ASSHOLE! You know you feel it in your bones, in your stomach, what more do you need? ” It’s hard to deny these artistic impulses, the impulse to want to be different, but I’m not sure it’s always egotistical. I’m an absurdist, I get bored by things as they are, the way we continuously operate, lots of us, shunning little benign behaviors that are out of the ordinary. I hold people with panty buns in contempt. The conformist aspects of our society disgust me. Mine is common rhetoric in our society and especially of many Millennials, but don’t belittle me or my friends who have artistic or culturally innovative aspirations and might have unique taste in music, clothes, art, or sexual partners, by calling us all ‘hipsters’ because you feel the need to categorize things and have even less synaptic action when you think about people. I’m not a hipster. I’m not an artist. I’m not a writer. I’m just tired of this shit. That’s why I write.
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