Day 209: Writing

Does writing change you?  How does writing make you a better person?

I write almost every day of the year.  I didn’t start out that way.  I have worked at keeping a journal for years.  Well, thirty-five to forty years to be exact.  I was hit and miss, mostly miss.  I went for months without writing.  Eleven years ago, I was introduced to the concept of morning pages by Julia Cameron.  My journaling became better, but I sill missed most of the summer.  However, the further I get into my writing gig with challenges and such, I am now where I rarely miss a day.  Yay.

Does writing change me?  My mother-in-law talked about her journey with writing this spring.  She would say it has changed her.  I am sure it has probably changed me, but for the life of me, I can’t think of how it has changed me.  Does it make me a better person?  Again, probably, but I have no examples.  So, the questions I have are what does writing do for me?  Why do I do it?

I “enjoy” writing about my frustrations.  Sure, I still have to talk about them, but putting them on the page helps me release the annoyances of my day a little more.  When my fiction is going well, I am able to brainstorm ideas through my writing.  I can work out problems, reflect, and see what I have accomplished the day before.  I like all of this.  Most of all, I enjoy leaving a piece of myself behind.  I loved reading about Laura Ingalls Wilder and someday, someone might like reading about me.  Granted, I would need to change my journals to more of memoire form to make it read smoother.  If I don’t, maybe my descendents will enjoy reading about me.

Whether writing changes me or makes me a better person or not, I love to write.  That is all the reward I need.