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Marijeanne Santina
Miller and Crichton
AP Language and Composition
25 June 2013
Why I Write
Ever since I was a little girl I have been making up songs that send a message or tell a
certain story. At the beginning of middle school I started writing in a journal which helped me
cope with transitioning into being a teenager. I would write poems, songs and even the beginning
of some books in my journal. I never considered this a career path for me simply because in my
mind I was not good enough.
The first song I ever created was when I was around the age of three; it was about how
my dad was always grumpy. Whenever he became antagonized I would sing the Grumpy Song to
him and do a little dance, which would just make him even more vexed. Looking through the
journal that contains my thoughts and feelings of middle school years is intriguing; in the
beginning it is mostly short summaries of my feelings. Then when death materialized in the
neighborhood poems start to fill pages. These poems had no structure. They were simply a
technique of therapy and were often poorly written. I wrote a lot during middle school because I
had issues during that time period.
My biggest struggle as a writer is not having enough faith in my work. I have only shown
my creative, free writing to my close friends and my dad who believe that I am talented and
could have a career as a writer. I also have trouble with structured writing, which I must do in an
educational setting. I often forget where comas belong and in my essays words are frequently
misspelled. To me anyone can be a writer but not everyone can be an author. Writers are people
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that can write with no structure and can funnel their emotions out onto paper. In contrast it is a
job for an author to write, they are advocates for the topics contained in their literature, they must
have intriguing opinions and ideas for them to succeed and be glorified. There are three main
motives that make an author a compelling one.
(i) Personal History. Every author has pieces of themselves included in their work,
directly or indirectly. Authors create characters based upon people that have influenced their life
and include their past and feelings within the pages of their work. Every reader interprets the
authors work differently because nobody has had the exact same life experience as another. They
write of personal experiences to connect to the reader and show them that they are not alone.
Often times the most fascinating novels speak of subjects that the general public does not
acknowledge.
(ii) Political and Religious Stances. Authors use literature as a form of peaceful protest,
there are many books that protest the government's actions and question their judgment. Written
word is used to persuade others to see political and religious affairs through the authors
perspective. Writers push their views on other people through words, and try to prove that their
position is the correct one through their work.
(iii) Passion. When an author truly cares about the topic they are writing on you can feel
the passion dripping from the page. This key motive is what youth in the education system is
missing; they often feel disconnected to the prompts they are given. The passion for writing must
be found in oneself, it cannot be taught in school, or forced upon a being.
In many ways I can relate to Orwells message. I write it because there is some lie that I
want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention, and my initial concern is to get a
hearing. To quote George Orwell this is the main reason I write or create lyrics to anything,
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because I want to reveal secrets that are not only mine but societys. I for the most part agree
with George Orwell and why he believes people write. The motive I disagree with is the motive
of fame and fuel or ones ego. To me a good writer does not write to feel power they write
because of their passion.
Currently, my main passion for writing is through lyrics to music. My friend and I get
together, while she plays guitar I sing about topics I can relate to. Although I do not have the
widest most complex vocabulary or the clearest ideas writing is something I enjoy because I can
throw everything I feel onto a paper. If I ever published any of my work, it would not be for
fame, my drive for what I write is so people know that they are not alone.
THE END