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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.
#WhyIWriteΒ 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 ππ
— 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
itβs 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 βοΈβπΌ (@thefatauthor) October 20, 2017
https://twitter.com/i_amnoor/status/921645034750951424
#WhyIWrite because it's something sacred that I know will stay between me and my thoughts… π
— Princeton Perez (@princetonperez) October 20, 2017
Some want to create a sense of community.
https://twitter.com/ShawtyNotBasic/status/921420821347872768
And then there’s this tweet, which is a little too relatable.
#WhyIWrite I'm a narcissist with no other marketable skills
— eve peyser (@evepeyser) October 20, 2017