by Heather Quarry

Created on: August 24, 2008

There could not possibly be enough spaces in one forum for all people to explain why they write. Dreams, wishes, heartaches, sorrows, victories, losses, promises, thoughts, experiences, opinions, experiments.. (the list is never ending). I can however explain here, an assortment of reasons behind my own writing in the hope it may inspire someone to write or at least appreciate the written word.

I write because it is all I really know. Since early childhood I found writing to be an escape from a reality no child should have to live through. It has been a tool for me to release frustrations and confusion. A form of expression that could not be taken from me, and did not need to be shared by people who could not possibly understand the mind of a young child. A pen and piece of paper became my most valued instruments until typewriters and computers helped dramatically.

Every thought and experience over years were documented through my writing. Never one to keep an accurate diary, my writing styles were often cloaked in poetic verse and essay format. This allowed the eyes of others to see it as writing from someone's imagination, giving me the ability to keep the reality my own. Writing, like my photography, became a tool of competency over time. It allowed the inner me to create understandable resolutions through poetry that others could put into practice. If this guided even one person of thousands in the right direction, then it has been worth it.

A smile on a child's face expressed through pride of achievement can be written about with compassion and dedicated love. The first baby tooth. The first step. The first word. The first Christmas, Easter or birthday. What delights to be able to freely journal in a few lines of written bliss. A great grandmother holding her first great grandchild in her frail arms. Distinctive beauty. Strengths and soft pleasure that can be kept alive throughout history itself in one short meaningfully worded poem.

Warning signs from a stressed soul that has fought its way back to living freedom. Thoughts become irregular and painfully strained. Writing down these experiences is of course not easy but in its essence, can be utilised to help others going through such turmoil-ed emotions.
An adventure waiting to be experienced. Many of my adventures through life have come about after my uncalculated mind has readily dictated ideas to paper. No time to sift through them. Only time to write them. Filing them away in the nexus of time, to be joined with so many others in a system of non regret.

I write for many other reasons but most importantly, after forty four years of constant writing, I still write. When hosting writer's workshops I try to implement three things into the minds of the writing group members. "Feel what you write. Use your writing like a photograph. Let it tell a story that the reader can feel a part of, or at the least, can understand".

I share this article with you to give you a slight glimpse into the mind of a writer that writes based on the love of writing over all else. If it has made you smile just once, or has given you writing food for thought, then it has done what it was supposed to do. It has given you insight into another writer.

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