Why I Write and Why You Should, Too

Do you believe that I still write? I mean I still take a pen or pencil and write on paper instead of directly typing on a keyboard.

Even before I became a popular influencer and blogger in the Philippines, I already loved writing, especially if I’m doing it with a cup of coffee and donuts. The question then is why do I write and why do I encourage you to do the same?

Before we go further, I want to be honest with you, WRITING IS NOT EASY. This is especially true if you are writing in a language you are not born with. Nonetheless, people think that I am a good English writer. It took time for me to believe that. It brought me to a situation where I found myself in hours and hours of reading and practicing to produce a better write-up until I was already employed to do just that. I’ve been a full-time and/or freelance writer and blogger in the Philippines for five years now. But still, I can write better and faster in the Filipino language than in English.

Well, writers have different reasons for deciding to take writing seriously. If you ask ten writers why they do what they do, you’ll probably get ten different answers.

Celebrated professor Mark Edmundson asked, “Why write when it sometimes feels that so few people really read–read as if their lives might be changed by what they’re reading? Writing is backbreaking, mind-breaking, lonely work. So why?”

Here are some of the possible reasons why a writer writes:

To express ideas or emotions
To record daily activities or events in a journal
To teach others through written communication
To do it as a pastime or a hobby
To tell a story, a dream, a fantasy, or a philosophy
To do it for a company as a source of income
To stimulate interest
To influence others to take action

There are many reasons to write, as varied as the writers themselves. Whatever it is that drives someone to write, writing can be either personal, commercial, or academic.

What I am sad about is when the academe uses writing to measure or assess the level of learning or understanding of students without teaching them what writing really is, how to write a better essay, and how to improve one’s self in writing.

Moving on, here are some of the benefits of writing:

It helps you to learn more, think deeper, and understand better.
It encourages you to know more about yourself and the world around you.
It aids others to get a fresh idea from a different perspective.
It educates others, moves others, and improves others.
It caters you to your dream job and get a career or earn a living.

William Faulkner, an American writer and Nobel Prize laureate, illustrates writing as:

“Ninety-nine percent talent . . . ninety-nine percent discipline . . . ninety-nine percent work. [The writer] must never be satisfied with what he does. It never is as good as it can be. Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.”

There’s so much value in writing. It offers a lot of opportunities for you to learn, grow, and be the person you want to be. Like The Millennial Writer, you don’t need to learn everything to start writing; just write and let the world stand in awe with your words.

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