Why do you write?

It's odd, some people have said that writing is therapeutic, others say they can't write when they're happy. I have to say, writing hasn't helped me out of my depression at all, in fact it probably made it worse. Doh. It encouraged me to wallow in and overanalyse my feelings, but then I fell in love with writing and wrote some stuff that I liked. Then I became convinced that my poems had sprung from my depression and stopped wanting to get better because I was scared that if I was happy I wouldn't be able to write. "We poets in our youth begin in gladness; but thereof in the end despondency and madness" - Wordsworth. Smile everyone :D

In my case, the despondency and madness came first (pool ol' Wordsworth, eh?). I was a thoroughly miserable and unhappy child, as a consequence of which I wrote the most appalling, maudlin garbage. This state of affairs lasted until I became very, very old (thanks. Em!). Now that I've (more or less) sorted my head out, my writing seems to flow far more easily and I'm much more prolific. With I hope, a touch of humour. I'm smiling...

Andrea should also consult the grammar book. My answer to seagull is I write because I wirte! (oops! write)

i write because i am insane and i want to flaunt my madness to all and sundry.

For most of my life I have drifted and not really fitted in anywhere. Never been able to hold down a job, never found what I was good at. I tried loads of things. I've tried being a nurse, a mechanic, a carpenter, a computer programmer, a web-site designer, a busker.. etc etc. But none of these things were really me. Then my brother lent me this book called' The right to write' by Julia Cameron. And it just totally inspired me to have a go at writing. and I suddenly found I really liked writing, and became addicted to it. I filled up notebooks and exercise books and then I found this web-site and it gave me even more incentive to write. Because you have a whole set A-Z to fill and you sudenly are writing loads because you want to complete your sets. So this web-site has really helped my writing a lot. In fact I would go as far as to say, this web-site has become like a cornerstone, just like that book I read, ' The right to write.' I have a terrible habit of writing long letters. So I will try and keep this brief. The reason i write is because it guves me a real kick. And I feel like somebody. And also sometimes I find it hard to make friends with folk, because theya re like ice. And making conversation is hard work and also a lot of people seem to form cliques and you come along but they kind of deaf you out, and you haf to work hard to be part of a group. Which for me is difficult at times because I have travelled a lot and each time I settle into a new place the whole hardship of making new friends hits me, and it is so hard at times. Frustrating! I have a lot of good friends at the moment, but it has taken me ages to build up a circle of friends. So I guess what I am trieing to say in a kind of long winded way is that I also write because it is a way to communicate. Communication is one of the big drives in human beings. We all feel like we need to do it, because we are social creatures. So writing is communicating for me. A way to express myself. It is also a great way to tap into the universal mind and discover the creativity of life. Theos bless Funky_seagull

Funky, you're a star! Keep at it... And good luck.

I write as an exercise in self-expression. Because of my past history of sexual abuse, I was always told to be quiet..don't talk...etc etc Writing is a way to 'speak out'. It helps me find my voice. It also helps me discover who I am. I hope that some of the things I say will also be an encouragement to other 'survivors' who are walking the same recovery road. Words have always held a fascination for me. I like to play with them, arrange them, and listen to how they sound when strung together...like music! I'm not new to ABCTales, but new to the forums. Still finding my voice...so to speak.... ~Blessings to All~

i shall write forever whether may someone read it or not! thats life. for me at least it is

If I didnt write then I would totally give up and I honestly mean that. When I'm depressed (which is often - they tease me at work but I can't help it) I think of my writing and it spurs me on. Why did I start to write? I've written since I was about 10 and, when everyone was outside playing, I was in my bedroom devising my own books "The Kids on Love Lane". They were in the coolest gang ever! I maybe wrote that because I was never in the "in" crowd and you could say I was a loner. Are all you other writers loners? Christ, am I sad, or am I sad? Or am I just strange? Open to debate!

Atta gril egirl ..write forever! Why do write? Because if we didn't there'd be more ink left for Jeffrey Archer that's godamned why! P.S. Miss E ..am off to find your work now, will let you know what I think.

I write, for the same simple reason as you at 12; it helps me work things out. I also like to play with words, I pick them up, roll them around and drop them into place, and it gives me a huge personal satisfaction to do so. Also, for me, I write to connect with others. The feeling that it gives you when someone who has read your work writes to you to tell you how they identified in some way, is marvellous. Possibly it makes you feel less alone? I'd write, even if noone read my stuff, and have done so daily, since very young, in the form of a diary. It's a release, isn't it? Or then again, maybe it's just a vanity thing. ;o)

i write to justify my continual additions to the threads

I write because I got to a stage in my life when I realised that it was all I could do.

I started to write when I got ill - it was a release of all the emotions/strain I was under. I found it very hard to show my work to other people at first - it felt like a violation if anybody read it. I have always written for myself, no matter whether or not anyone else reads it. I love other people reading it now - it is lovely to be able to show people how you feel with words, but some of the things I write, even now, are for me and my eyes only. Jennifer

To get it all out in the open. Also it's like talking to loads of people all at once - except mostly they never answer you. John247

I started writing poetry in Maths lessons at school. The teacher wanted us to learn whether A+D-Z/X = Y or B but I didn't really care much either way,so I wrote poems instead. There was the depression as well, obviously.

I write 'cause it heals me. My depressions have ceased since I began writing. So that is why I write. If no-one reads or likes it, it doesn't bother moi. I started writing about five years ago. I was called girlie for writing and thus gave up. Then about four months ago I decided not to listen to fools. Therefore I write again. Thanks for your time Spag-o-rama

Get down off that cross, we could use the wood...

What cross? Oh my- I seem to be on a cross. Oooh my buns. Oooh the heat of the sun. I seem to have hot cross buns! The wood is now yours again.

I was bullied at school....that set me off..

It goes to prove that good things can emerge from bad events. That bullying may have been horrendous but it led to you putting pen to paper.

That's right wolfgirl....although I do find it difficult to write about the actual events...I'm trying at the moment and I will eventually post it....it is a driving force though, the memory.

Like the rest of you misery guts :-) I was advised to start writing by some clever person when I was depressed. It helped me immensely and since I have begun to do this my depression has lifted some what. Writing for me is like what therapists are to Americans! The page is blank and non-judgemental and I can put down on paper whatever I am feeling. After I have done this I always feel much better and as if someone has listened to me. This style of forum also helps and reading other people's poetry as I realise that I am quite normal and that others have been through the same sorts of things as me. Sarah.

I write because when I write I am the best person I can be. I am the Now Here Man

Everybody's got to be Somewhere.

woke up this morning found myself in bed my knowledge of the blues is somewhat nil

Maybe we did, but it wasn't the teachers who did the bullying.......check out "The Doctor" under mjt21.....

No offence taken..........I'm 36 now so it was a long time ago and I did have a great childhood, I didn't let the ugly stuff take over.....

I write to release the pressure from my mind. Who said that? Where am I anyway?

I'm paranoid about myself and like the chance to et heard by people, i often feel like everything i say is just pointless. Writing stuff down makes it feel a little more important. Is anyone listening to me, see i told you no one listens to me. Fine i hate you all anyway !~

Well, I was, but I'm not any more. Since everyone has been writing a bit about why they write and depressions, I thought I might join in. I have always liked writing, and at primary school creative writing ranked first, alongside art, and sports. (yes, I know). Then when I got really depressed I wrote to express my feelings but mainly to help me understand why I felt the way I did. I found poetry easier to do this but I also wrote short stories. Now that I am in the realms of happiness (most of the time) I find it harder to write poetry, nothing inspired it more than the deep dark realms of despair, self-hatred and self-pity. I do try though, but I feel as if I am at the beginning, starting all over again. Which is a good thing.

Or, you could watch an episode of EastEnders!

Or read a grammar/spelling/punctutation book? Oooh, nasty... Sorry.