The Need to Write

This past Thursday evening I attended a talk on The Yoga of Eating, given by author and speaker, Charles Eisenstein. At one point during his nearly two-and-a-half-hour talk, Mr. Eisenstein mentioned that many people use food as a substitute for one of their needs that aren’t being met. He went on to list the needs that every one of us has.

  • The need to love and be loved
  • The need to know and be known
  • The need to laugh
  • The need explore and have adventure
  • The need to create, especially something of beauty
  • And, the need to give

“Interesting,” I thought to myself, “Can I relate these needs to writing?” As writers, I think that we all write for some, if not all of these reasons … these needs. Examine the list again and see which ones apply to you.

Do you want your writing to be loved? Do you want to be loved as a writer? I think that everyone who writes wants their writing to be accepted and, maybe even respected, by others. I know I do. So, yes, we want our writing to be loved.

Do you want to be known? I recently read The Rise of the Author, by Mark Joyner. In it he tells the story of the first time that he was recognized in public as an author. His “heart nearly exploded from [his] chest with confidence and joy,” he said. Do you want to be known as a writer? I think to some degree we all do, even if it’s only to our friends and family.

Do you need to laugh? This one might be a little more difficult than the others, but if you change “laugh” to “enjoy what you do,” I think that it makes sense. Do you enjoy writing? If not, find another line of work. Life’s too short to be doing something you don’t enjoy.

Do you have a need to explore and have adventure? If the writing life isn’t exploration and adventure, what is it? Yes, again.

Do you have the need to create? That’s all us writers do is create, even when it looks like we’re just watching the snow melt or the grass grow, we’re creating.

Finally, the need to give. When we finish a poem, a play, a short story, an article or a book, we’re giving. What do we give? We give hope. We give comfort. We give knowledge and wisdom. We give a smile.

So, the next time that you feel like giving up as a writer, think about your own needs for a minute. I think that you’ll find that by continuing to write you will meet at least some of your needs. And remember, the world needs your words too.

Until next time …

No day without a line.

March 1, 2008 · Filed Under Writing Advice

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One Response to “The Need to Write”

  1. To Write or To Have Written, that is thequestion. « How to Write a Play on March 5th, 2008 6:03 pm

    [...] while others need to call themselves writers. Which are you? I think you’ll find this post on The Need to Write can help you answer that [...]

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