Over at AQC, a thread was started about personal strengths. This made me think a lot about the reasons I keep writing. Most writers have a voice to be heard or a message to share. Others just want to entertain people or themselves. I'm no different. Actually, all the above can be considered motivations for my writing, but there's one thing that's stuck with me since July 2008.
As part of the fanfiction I was working on, I turned the main character into a homeless man. I have a friend who once lived on the street and this guy let me pick his brain to really know what it's like. I used that information to show my readers what it was like.
One of the reviews I received during this phase of my writing opened my eyes to the power a writer holds. It also created a passion inside me that reignites every time I think about it.
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Review written by Chazsvp2 (reposted from fanfic reviews for Flames and Family IV):
I checked how many chapters you've updated since I last looked and all that I could think of was 'I love you' over and over again in my head.
Know that I mean it.
LOVE. you. YOUR FRICKIN' AMAZING at how much emotion swells from your work, pulling our hearts into the story so that we feel their pain and their joy and their feelings and GWAHH ! Amazing...
homelessness is so sad :(
so sad that i gave the remainder of my subway meal and a full drink to this homeless person on my way out, and it wasn't much, so I was surprised that he took it with such gratitude! I can't believe I've never thought to do that before!(help out a homeless person) And yet after reading this fic, it made me want to! You inspired a good deed, madashes2ashes! ^-^
:( are the streets really that horrible? It makes me want to cry! Surely not!
THEY GET EXCITED OVER A TWENTY! WAH!
I LOVE STRONG-TSUNA! LOVE LOVE LOVE!
I mean...WOW when he just punched that guy once and it was all over ...for 2 grand...so powerful! The emotions were just...wow.
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It might not seem like such a huge thing on the surface, but this one little review opened my eyes to a lot of things. I've been writing for four years. Think of how much you have changed in the past four years. Think of books you might have read in your life which altered your perception of the world.
It's mind-blowing to think I'm part of that for someone, even if I only triggered a small act of kindness.
Why do I write?
I write because I have a voice and there ARE people listening.
1 comment:
It wasn't until I saw your thread that I even thought about what impact I could have on someone else. Probably because I am a long way from being published. As a mental health RN over the years I got that same sense of satisfaction from helping. I strived to make a difference everyday. What you said touched me & makes me look at my writing in a new light. Thanks for that
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