I'm A Writer... I Guess

I never actually thought of myself as a writer until very recently. I've always been an avid reader, and from time to time I would wonder what it'd be like to be the one who actually created works that interested others as much as it interested me. A few months ago, I heard a quote from one of my favorite writers, Orson Scott Card that stirred me into action. Basically, Card stated his belief that writers are stirred into action for one of two reason: they are either inspired by good writing and wish to emulate what they've read, or they read something so terrible they feel that if writing as poor as that can get published, why can't theirs? I fall into the former category. I love reading, and the good writing I've read inspired me to the point of venturing out on my own. That brings me to my current existence where it seems i've become a writer of sorts.

What is a writer? In it's simplest form I guess a writer is someone who (skillfully or not) breaks down a situation or condition and summarizes it into a few (or many) words on a page. A writer can reduce a situation to something quite rudimentary, extrapolate it into a different situation, or even magnify it into something it is or is not. For this reason writing is one of, if not, the most powerful tools in the known world. The clichéd saying: "the pen is mightier than the sword" was created for a reason.

That is not to say all writing is powerful. It's simply a tool for whatever the writer wishes to use it. While some writing has inspired and spurred nations of people, other's writing has earned them Fs in an English class. Even bad writing has the power to make a person fail, depending on the circumstance in which it is deployed.

So why do I write? It's simple: because I want to. I am very frequently bored, and writing the extraneous thoughts tumbling around my brain helps the useful ones flourish by expunging those that have no use. I have found that the more I write, the more I actually enjoy writing. If I had read these words a year ago I would have dismissed them as a fallacy and demanded recompence for obvious libel. However, here I am, typing away; I'm a changed man. It would seem that I've become a writer. Whether or not I become a good writer is anyone's guess.