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skindeep's picture

reasons for writing

im really glad  you brought this up - what is the purpose of writing that is not meant to be read? who is a writer usually writing for? how do our relationships to reading change based off its intent to be read?

the way i see it, writing is a form of expression, an extension of thinking. you write to express yourself/your thoughts on a matter, you write because sometimes it makes more sense than speaking. that being said, i think most writers have a lot of work that they do not write for an audience, work that was never meant to be shared. writing is a two step process, first, you get yourself to put something down on paper in a manner that makes you happy and then, you come to peace enough with it to be ready to share it with the outside world.

so, then,  the purpose of writing is not necessarily to be read, the purpose of writing is just to write. to have something on paper. as my creative writing professor once stated, 'by putting ink on paper, you suggest that something, somewhere is consistent.' you write for yourself. you write because you have something to say. you have an idea, an emotion, a contradiction in your mind. you think, and so you write.

that being said, writing for yourself and writing for an audience can or cannot be different. for example, when you write in a diary, most people still feel as though they're writing to someone, so they write as they speak, as they think, writing letters that you never send are the same. writing poetry and stories can be the same too - you find a means to express yourself, and sometimes you want other people to be able to connect with that and other times, you just create  because well, you want/need to create.

i think reading something that wasnt written to be read gives you a more honest but complicated window into the authors mind. it allows you to build a deeper connection with the author and find more levels on which you connect with the work. however, that is not to say that wiriting that was meant to be read cannot evoke the same things in you.

so i guess, maybe it isnt about whether the work was meant/not meat to be read more than it is whether or not the author wants you to understand...

 

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