Why do I write? Here are four reasons…

The “why?” question is always the tricky one. This was the Bloganuary prompt though, and I will do my best with it.

Reason Number One: As most writers will say, I write mostly for myself. As I noted in my previous Bloganuary post, writing brings me joy. I am not always happy with my writing, but when it is finished, there is a feeling of accomplishment. Whether anyone reads it or not is quite immaterial, I tell myself. This is actually how I started to write my blog – all of twelve years ago. I wanted to practice my writing, and I wanted to see how it looked in a blog format. It was a terrible struggle at first, as WordPress was certainly not as user-friendly as it is now! But once I got started and had things in place, I became almost spiritually attached to my keyboard and my beloved iMac. Yes, a machine – not a notepad – gets me started. A blank screen.

Reason Number Two: OK. Scratch that sentence in Reason Number One. I actually do want people to read my writing. I write to get a message across. I have some kind of mission, and I am unashamedly an advocate for the environment, biodiversity, birds, climate justice, human rights, and more. So when I put on the advocacy hat, I go into it full steam ahead. And I do wear the advocacy hat quite often. It spills over into my social media, and that is where you can also find my writing. I am on Twitter a great deal (@petchary). I am on Facebook, much less. I am on Instagram even less often. I play around with Tumblr. And I am considering posting my fiction on a platform named SubStack, which seems to be a blogging platform like this one.

Reason Number Three: I just love words. I am a linguist by training, and so words – their origin, how they sound, how they are used – always fascinate me. Even the way they look on the page! During my langurage studies (French, German, Latin, and Japanese) I enjoyed my vocabulary lists most of all. There is enormous subtlety and complexity, for example, in Japanese colour words – all the shades.

Reason Number Four: If I don’t write, I get very miserable – grumpy, even. It’s simple as that! So, to keep me in a good mood, my dear, long-suffering husband knows he must allow me some keyboard time…

So, I am writing. And writing. And writing. Try stopping me!

My keyboard is the only way for me. Which reminds me, I need to charge it up!