Why I Write E-Book

Goethe

• Herausgeber: WIM
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Seitenzahl: 30

Beschreibung

"Why do I write?" is a question we ask ourselves every time we sit down at our desks, often without a clear answer. The author of this book confesses that he first picked up a pen simply because he loved the act of writing. He couldn't quite tell if what he was scribbling on the blank page was a diary, a novel, or a poem, but he admits that writing those unidentifiable words brought him a sense of peace.

Over time, writing became a necessity - whether it was reports for school projects, theses for degrees, or articles for academic journals. But what about now? At his core, he writes because he wants to, but also because he feels compelled to. Essentially, he writes for himself, though he doesn't mind writing for others.

One day he asked himself, "Why do I write?" This question soon evolved into a broader curiosity: "Why do writers write?" To find answers, he searched his collection of more than 7,000 books for insights on writing. He collected 150 quotes about why writers write and compiled them into this book.

This book doesn't just try to answer why we write-it encourages deeper introspection. Why Do Writers Write reveals the many motivations that drive writers: some write purely for pleasure, others for financial gain, and still others for recognition. The book presents 38 reasons shared by 112 writers, accompanied by 150 aphorisms on the craft of writing.

In many ways, this book functions like a conversation with ChatGPT. It offers 38 perspectives on why people write, along with 150 thought-provoking quotes. None of these are definitive answers, however, because the reasons vary depending on the reader's perspective. Even the same writer may have different motivations at different times. "Why am I writing?" is a question you should ask yourself before you begin. As you turn the pages of this book, you may discover, much like a yogi in meditation, that the question itself becomes a journey to deeper self-knowledge.

Leseprobe

Contents

-Introduction

1Accuracy

2Altruism

3Completeness

4Courage

5Creation

6Curiosity

7Depth and connection

8Escape

9Experience

10Exploration

11Expression

12Finding the answer

13Freedom

14Healing

15Historical impulse

16Idea

17Ignorance

18Incompleteness

19Knowledge

20Learning

21Life

22Love

23Money

24Music

25Observation

26Oneself

27Pleasure

28Political purpose

29Publishing

30Question

31Reader awareness

32Reason for being

33Record

34Responsibility

35Salvation

36Truth

37Value

38Word

-Index

Introduction

Art is a means of enlightenment and a path to freedom. The key to art is to be true to yourself. This is the only way to achieve liberation. However, when there are conflicting perspectives, a problem arises. We are designed to learn from and imitate others in order to gain a survival advantage.

Humans are strange creatures. We need external validation to believe in something, which is why we are so obsessed with learning. While exploring the outside world is important, the English author Roger Ascham was right when he said, “Learning teacheth more in one year than experience in twenty.” You cannot gain knowledge without learning from others.

It is not a teaching tool, but it does provide information. Reading quotes from writers can teach you the importance of writing, but the goal of reading quotes is to find your own voice. It may start with imitating others, but it must end with producing something distinctly your own.

If you want to create, you have to empty yourself of everything you’ve learned. An artist reveals his individuality by removing traces of other influences. You must also empty your mind by shifting your gaze from looking outward to looking inward. It is the process of discovering who you are before you are influenced by others.

Artists create. Technique is important, but being true to yourself is even more important. To create something new, you must learn and empty yourself before you begin. You have to empty yourself to create. This is true whether you are learning to empty yourself or emptying yourself to learn. To discover yourself, you must accept the influences of others and then move away from them. This seems contradictory, but it is the path to creation.

At its core, learning is putting on someone else’s glasses. There is great value in seeing the world through someone else’s eyes. It allows you to understand it from a different perspective. The problem is that it’s not your own perspective. This is why the French sculptor August Rodin was so clear when he said, “Bad artists always put on other people’s glasses.” Learning has limits.

You have to know what you need. You have to empty yourself. I compare it to taking off someone else’s glasses. Emptying is the preparatory step to looking at an object with unbiased eyes. When the mind is full of a thought, it occupies the mind and leaves no room for other thoughts to enter - this is a simple fact. When the mind stays in one place instead of flowing freely, it becomes obsessed. Stagnant water rots. A struggling mind cannot germinate the seed of creation.

An empty mind is where the seed of creation germinates. When we allow the mind to flow freely without attachment to the self, it begins to shed its layers, one by one, until it finally opens up and reveals its bare skin. The mind can then observe external objects as they really are. It simply looks at them without becoming emotionally attached to them.