"Writing is a wonderful way to preserve the oddities of real life."
I have been writing for as long as I can remember--from handmade storybooks to poems to a novel-in-progress--so there must be many reasons why I spend so much time on it! I thought long and hard, and realized the following:
1. Writing allows me to be someone I am not. Being me all day every day can get really boring and predictable. Instead of taking on multiple personalities (and potentially freaking out my friends and family) writing stories from the perspective of different characters allows me to take on different voices, backgrounds, ideologies, and even a different gender!
2. Writing is a tried-and-true way to learn how to write better. I love to read a good story. The best kind of story is the one that leaves me saying, "Man, I wish I could do that!" I have found again and again, though, that no matter how many great story structures or characters I study in other people's novels, the best way to get better at crafting rich characters or developing interesting subplots is to keep trying it myself. Practice really does make better.
3. Writing is a wonderful way to preserve the oddities of real life. I have always made notes of hilarious situations, great names, or unbelievable ironies in everyday life, and stories are a wonderful way of remembering these head-shaking moments. Truth really is stranger than fiction, but oftentimes truth can also enhance fiction!
4. Put quite simply, writing is relaxing. In the same way that reading can transport me, so can writing. Within moments of sitting down to write, my own worries (and all other aspects of my immediate surroundings) dissolve into the world of the story. It is the cheapest, fastest getaway I can think of, and the best remedy to an overburdened brain.
5. Writing is highly valued. In my experience, nothing has opened doors for me like my ability to express myself through writing. Teachers, employers, landlords, and countless other figures of authority will stand up and taken notice of a clearly written essay, letter, or email. Writing those stories pays big dividends when writing nonfiction, too!
Lindsey Grant is National Novel Writing Month's Community Liaison, meaning she is in charge of the hundreds of NaNoWriMo volunteer chapter heads (Municipal Liaisons) all around the world. After Lindsey finished her MFA in Creative Nonfiction at Mills College, she stumbled upon the magical place that is the Office of Letters and Light. She could hardly believe that there were so many people in the world who love words as much as she does! She enjoys writing about food and travel, but not quite as much as she enjoys eating food while traveling. She is fighting against inertia and excoriating self-edits in order to finish a novel based on her years as a dog-walker.
