Why do I write?

Preparing for class today, re-reading Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones. She has a chapter called, Why Do I Write? It got me thinking. I enjoyed reading her own free write exercise, and decided to try my hand at it … So … Why do I write?

To tell my story. Validate my experiences and stop feeling invisible. I write to share ideas and change people’s minds. Sharing my vulnerabilities opens me up to others so that I might be better understood, more approachable, emotionally available. I write about the mundane and the emotional, how to treat children and relate to myself. Exploring my inner child, I write about relationships with life partner, son, and extended family members. I write about Ada Mae: Cat-type stories and relationship-with-cat tales. I write about the large oak tree outside my living room window, finding imagery in words, weaving together reality with fantasy, poetry with politics. I write because I have to. Expressing myself has become as important as breathing. I write to uncover the authentic core of my inner life, to see my self in print and recognize it for the first time, over and over again.

I write, therefore I am.

A year ago at Mining Nuggets: Take my advice, I don’t use it