#WhyIWrite Is Trending On Twitter & The Responses Are Inspiring

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Writing can be for profit, for expression, for identity, for awareness, for a raw and desperate need to put emotions on paper. Many writers write because they feel they must, because they get a gnawing urge to work through their furies and thoughts and ideas and must act on it.

#WhyIWrite started trending on Twitter this week, and the responses are illuminating. While some are writing to elevate underrepresented voices, others are using the tool for therapy, and others still to make the world a better, more honest place in some small way.

From the journalists who risk their reputations and lives to report the truth to novelists who make us fall for fictional people and places, writing matters — and now writers are sharing why they do it.

Some writers write to elevate the voices of POC and minorities.

Because I want the world to feel the beauty, depth, strength, complexity and innate dopeness of Black women. #whyiwrite

— Gina Prince-Bythewood (@GPBmadeit) October 20, 2017

I write to represent women, POC, & other minorities. To give a voice to the voiceless. To inspire. To change the world. #WhyIWrite 📝💕

— Alexandra Harrell (@alexandraharell) October 20, 2017

Others feel a moral calling.

there are a lot of bad stories out there doing real harm in the world

it’s up to us to tell better ones#whyiwrite

— Saladin Ahmed (@saladinahmed) October 20, 2017

https://twitter.com/jemisha_johnson/status/921513058480132097

Many writers use their gift to heal their inner demons.

#WhyIWrite
Because sometimes it's the only thing that can soothe my anxiety or serve as an outlet for my depression. It's healing.

— Destiny ☕️✍🏼 (@thefatauthor) October 20, 2017

https://twitter.com/i_amnoor/status/921645034750951424