Today is National Day on Writing. While there seems to be a surplus of superfluous national days, this is not one of them. Established by the National Council of Teachers of English, today is meant to celebrate the importance and joy of writing, in all its past and modern forms.
In the modern age, we’re all writers in some way or another. Whether it’s a tweet or a post, we all seem to have something to say. With so many writers out there, and so many messages, it begs the question — why do we write?
Today seems like the perfect chance to reflect on why we write. Beyond its most basic purpose, to communicate, everyone has their own reason for writing.
Some write to join the conversation, to be seen, or be heard. Others write to process, to make sense of the world. While others write to share knowledge, to tell stories, to share their unique way of seeing the world.
Yes, there are less admirable reasons for writing, but for the sake of optimism, we’ll save those for National Day on Writing Propaganda.
While it’s nice to reflect on why we write today, it’s also important to keep it in mind every day.
The immediacy of these many, many platforms is a blessing and a curse. It means we can get our message out quickly and to a larger audience than ever before. It also means, that for some, very little thought goes into the meaning and possible consequences of that message.
So, with that, I’ll leave you to your words. Use them wisely.
More on the Story: Why I Write
…just for fun:
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