Day 1: Why do you want to write?

It’s January 1, so I thought I’d kick off the month with a nice easy light question:

Why do you want to write?

Yeah okay it’s not perhaps that easy or light… but it is important. And fascinating. Because if we don’t know why we’re doing something, the chances we’ll see it through are slim.

Viktor Frankl said, ‘Those who have a “why” to live, can bear with almost any “how”.’

He was talking about surviving the most unimaginable horrors (read Man’s Search For Meaning if you haven’t already, it’s amazing) but it can be applied to everything. You’ll see versions of his quote splashed around as motivational posters all over the internet. Doesn’t make it any less true though.

And look: writing a book is not easy. Building a daily writing habit is not easy. Sometimes you’ll want to quit altogether. So you’re gonna need a strong why behind you.

Here’s why I write: because words have power. Words slung together into sentences with thought behind them, and a strong message, can change the world.

Writing amplifies diverse people’s voices, which is especially important when most of the voices look and sound the same.

And writing helps me to think. I try not to publish half-formed thoughts or knee-jerk reactions or hot takes (although sometimes I slip and make an arse of myself). When I write my thoughts down, I want to make sure I’m understood, and that I make sense, and that I truly believe what I’m writing—so I need to think my way through it.

How about you?

Why are you here, today? Why do you want to write?

TTFN,

Vicky

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