Why I Write

Ha, ha, the obvious answer (obvious if you write) is that I write to get these thoughts out of my head. I heard someone say something I've said about my own writing: it is like vomiting on a piece of paper. In mentality I actually agree with Robert Heinlein (or his character Lazarus Long "it is perfectly acceptable if you write just so long as you do it in the privacy of your home and wash your hands when you are done."

But I guess what I am trying to articulate is what I think is beneficial about writing or any kind of art. What is actually good about Jemuel or Martin's music, Mike's comics? I don't think this will be why we do it but maybe could be a standard by which I (or some other high and mighty A-hole) judge our overall success. I think what makes art different from mere self expression (which is good and fine) is that art provides the audience (and artist) a vocabulary for understanding their feelings.

For example, Martin has a number of kinds of songs, love songs, sad songs, intimate songs, ironic songs, etc. and while I do enjoy his romantic "baby baby baby" songs they don't "teach" me any new understanding of my own feelings. That is not because of anything missing from his songs but because the message of those songs is already very well developed in our vocabulary/understanding. But he has a couple of "she did me wrong" songs which do delve to put a difficult experiences into a form both the artist and audience can in some ways understand, accept/reject and articulate.

This understanding of art can be seen in how passionately younger people feel about their music. I once saw a ten year old girl lip syncing to a No Doubt song (this was a while ago) with all of the feeling AS IF she had any understanding what it felt like to go through what the song was about. I see now that she was actually practicing feeling that way and by sharing in their art got a glimpse (inoculation?) of how it really felt.

And though I am certainly prejudiced towards the literate/articulated portion of this: understanding the words; it has to be acknowledged that much of this internal vocabulary is from the music or pictorial aspects as well. For example (I'm lame) when I hear the beginning music or Lord of the Rings or (more respectable) the beginning music or "Silent all These Years" there is a non-literate understanding which I remember. If I look at "the Howl" or "starry nights" I do have a feeling. It might not have a very appropriate word attached to it as if all internal activity had an equal dictionary expression: "Silent all these Years" is = and exactly = to pensive. Making that definition longer does not solve this foolishness as if "Silent All These Years = and exactly = pensive+sad+healing+growing.

So when I write I am in some ways simply expressing myself, but rather than only letting the inside out I also steer my understanding towards a kind of expression. I imagine that my audience is someone like a teenage version of myself and I want him to be able to understand what he is feeling and what is happening. And that is the part of art which I am not the least bit shy about.

Happy Martin? You were mentioned.