To the dismay of just about every teacher that instructed me from elementary school through college, I have an insatiable need to know why. To me, why a person does something is as important, and sometimes more important, than what they are doing. So the quest began.
I wanted to know why I always have a notepad on me. Why I have stacks of notes scribbled hastily before my muse decided to leave. I needed to find out why I have so many dictionaries, thesaurus' and The Writers Market on hand, (I work out of town and carry these items back and forth). Here is what I've come up with so far, though the total number may never be known.
To try and make up for the innumerable times I was given the opportunity to enrich the life of a fellow human being and instead chose to be an ass.
I have found that using my love of writing with my bizarre sense of humor that sometimes I can help someone through a tough time, or just bring a smile to their face. Oftentimes I am just expressing an offbeat version of the obvious purely for my own pleasure, forgoing the need to rationalize or standardize my word choice. I simply see things from a different lens than most folks, for whatever reason. Most of the time it makes little or no sense to others, but, since it is for my own amusement, I write it anyway. Oddly enough it eases the burden carried by the reader, if only because it stuns their sensibility long enough for them to get another perspective.
To free my soul.
In my job as a Registered Respiratory Therapist in a level III NICU stress can reach the point of catastrophic damage to the cardiovascular system in minutes, or even seconds. Just about every thing I do can affect my miniscule patients for the rest of their lives. Dealing with pain and blood and death on a daily basis takes its toll on the human psyche. Writing allows me to express these caustic emotions and is a balm to my pitted and tender spirit.
To work through problems using methods and tools not available in the real world.
I once was very upset with a doctor who I felt was letting his friendships adversely affect patient care. I could not get him to hear me- sometimes I am NOT the most arrogant person in the room. So I wrote a story where he was a pontificating landowner who was destroyed by a garden nymph that had been trapped in a statue. This brought him to a level where I could find a way to reach him with my concerns. My working relationship with him has been stellar ever since.
To experience the freedom of creation.
If I want to have an elderly man sprout wings and fly to the top of a radio tower and spray fire out from the tips of his spun gold wings I can. Anything is possible. The exhilaration I feel is what I think a prisoner of war would feel when the realization that the freedom so long dreamed of has finally arrived. I may still be in the jungle, but I am free from my captors. I'm just as likely to have made my way to a large city and am sipping on a vente cappuccino at the local Starbucks. I have always seen words as having emotional value. Not the meaning of the word but the way the letters that make up the word relate to each other. Crazy, I know. Even a different font can convey different meanings from the same word.
There you have it. These reasons to write seize me like a drowning man thrusting his face out of the water for a gulp of air. I know that someday I will make a living as a writer, and that day cannot come soon enough.
Ken McCreless is just a guy who loves to write. No dazzling website or publishing milestones, just a love for words and a respect for the power they wield. Contact him at ken@kenmccreless.com
Robert Melaccio, Sr.(3,629) Robert Melaccio, Sr. (15 days 16 hours ago.)
An excellent article and expression of what many of us desire by writing. As for me, my old English teacher, well she is probably upset thinking I am writing and have won awards for poetry, me of all people. Yet she was the one who always stated the power of words and creativity in reaching people and yes changing the world and perhaps someones life. Good job and Thanks! Respond to this comment
Camille Strate(1,205) Camille Strate (13 days 23 hours ago.)
I, for one, think you are an EXCELLENT writer. I love your sense of humor (the fact that it's 'warped' makes it even funnier...but that's just me) and your command of the language is refreshing ALWAYS. You really ought to write a book, Ken. Really! Camille
Ken McCreless(673) Ken McCreless (13 days 11 hours ago.)
Wow! Thank you so much, Camille! I am working on some short stories, fiction is my chosen genre, but who knows? My memoir might be too much for the world, but, there was Bill Clinton, right? Thank you for your support.
Tim Hicks(432) (13 days 17 hours ago.)
Very good article. We all have different reasons for why we write. I am glad that we share some of those same reasons. I like that you have injected humor in your writing. To me, that always adds a nice spice to any article.
Thanks for the great read!! Respond to this comment
Ken McCreless(673) Ken McCreless (13 days 11 hours ago.)
But I'm not kidding! I am, actually. I just feel that the world is harsh enough already- why not have fun when you can? Thanks for reading.
Susan Thom(8,099) Susan Thom (11 days 13 hours ago.)
hi ken,
i think you have a unique touch that adds to any article. they are interesting, and thought provoking and a pleasure to read. thanks for sharing,
best regards,
sue thom Respond to this comment
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