Writing is unfiltered speech
I saw a documentary about the Swedish singer-songwriter and poet Cornelis Vreeswijk. In one of the scenes, someone tells Cornelis that writing seems to be necessary for him.
He replies:
Yes, it is. I can panic if I'm not allowed to write.
I think many of us can relate to that, at least to some extent. I know that I can. That’s why we write.
If I don't write in one form or another, it's like a blockage in the system. To get that shit out, I need to write in one form or another. Blog, journal, napkin - it doesn't matter. Just get it out of the system.
I think it was Stephen King who said something like:
"If you don't have time to read, how will you have time to write?”
For me, it's the other way around. If I don't write, there's no way I can be fully present and absorb what I'm reading.
Writing is a valve, a way to release the pressure of repetitive thoughts. Writing is a way to give words to the wordless. Writing is an unfiltered way of speaking.