If you’ve spent any time with me, you may know I’m not a grand storyteller. I can’t elaborate the subtle intricacies of how x happened at y. I’m usually to the point. There’s no build up or climax, as it’s usually just a statement of facts (arguing with me in person isn’t any fun, either).
Writing fills the gaps. It allows me to verbalize the things I can’t say in the moment. It gives me an outlet for all those funny details I missed when explaining how I learned that making a clam-shaped figure with my hands was not the appropriate way to ask for a to-go box.
Writing is beautiful. There’s an endless supply of adjectives, adverbs, and nouns at my disposal. I can reference facts and figures. There are paragraphs, lists, chapters, outlines, etc. It can empower me to do any number of things, such as:
- Tell a personal story
- Relay important news
- Teach a new concept
- Evoke an emotion
- Argue a point cohesively
- Code a program(!)
Writing gives me freedom. There are some words better left unsaid. Maybe those words are best left written. I can share those words with whomever I want to, be it myself, friends, or the world.
Writing gives me time to think. Time to remember the things I may have forgotten. Time to write the words I meant to, instead of saying the ones I didn’t mean to. It gives me a freedom I might not have in a split second in time: with it I can travel anywhere in time and space. Conversely, I can travel nowhen or nowhere at all.
Most importantly, writing is…
…timeless.
You're a great writer, babe. If you wrote a book, I would read it
I agree with you. Writing is a great way to say what you want to say in the way and manner in which you want to say it. And I agree with you on the notion of “maybe those words are better left written.” True story.
Great post, Eddie!
And how… especially about how writing gives you time to think about what you are going to say. Nicely said! =)
And how… especially about how writing gives you time to think about what you are going to say. Nicely said! =)