Happy National Day on Writing!

 Today is the National Day on Writing. Outside the Starbucks on campus, members of the Department of Communication and Writing and the staff of our on-campus writing magazine manned a table to capture the opinions of students and staff on a few writing-related questions. My freshmen answered the questions in class, leading me to ponder them myself. 

Here are the questions and my answers.

WHY DO YOU WRITE? I agree with many of my students, who use it as a form of self-expression. I also write to create and to educate. I love making up people and endowing them with characteristics and personalities and seeing what kind of trouble I can get them into. And, as a lifelong educator, I love sharing what I know and/or what I've discovered in the hope it will help someone else. 

WHY DO YOU LOVE TO WRITE? The truth is, I don't always love to write. Depending on the project it can be anxiety-producing or even a chore. But, when it's a project I love and things are going smoothly, I love to write because it's fun.

WHERE DO YOU WRITE? Everywhere. Recently, I started a notebook in which to capture all my musings, but I have notepads and writing implements in my car, in most rooms of my house, and in every purse or tote bag I own. If I find myself with a few minutes to spare, whether it's in the Starbucks drive-through or in the waiting room at the doctor's office, I'm always prepared to scribble a few ideas on the page.

HOW DO YOU WRITE? Any way I can. Most projects are very linear, beginning at the beginning of the story and moving on logically from there. Occasionally, a project is more like a patchwork -- my current novel fits this description -- leaving me writing out of order and worrying if the end result will be a fully realized quilt or a pile of scraps.

WHY DOES WRITING MATTER? With AI taking over everything except the things I want it to do (cook dinner, clean the bathroom, etc.), I think writing and all creative activities are more important than ever. The writing we humans produce is flawed and imperfect, but represents a piece of the person who created it. AI is a helpful tool, but I think it's ill-suited to replace the uniqueness of the product that pours out of an individual human being.

How about you? Do you journal, write poetry, compose letters? Why is writing important in your life? Share your thoughts in the comments. I'd love to read them.

Graphic courtesy of the National Council of Teachers of English