Beauty of Writing

Writing is my friend in times of loneliness and a panacea for tensions and stresses. Whenever

I feel distressed, I spill my feelings on a blank piece of paper. In this sense I do not agree with John Dryden’s saying, “Learn to write well, or not to write at all.” One writer explained how his pessimist friend quit writing when he did not see any significant changes taking place in society through his output. However, one must realize that one has to be patient as writing does not bring overnight change. it is not wise to expect a few articles to bring changes in society. One must be mindful that Rome was not built in a single day.

It is good to develop the art of writing well, but why not write if we want to? Writing is a skill that can develop with practice. It also demands much endurance. Rousseau says that “however great a man’s natural talent may be, the art of writing cannot be learned all at once.” If we think of beginning writing after becoming perfect, then this may not happen and our ideas may die with us.

Not all people like to write. They think it is time-consuming and a waste of energy. When they see others struggling to write, they make fun of them. They may not know that writing is the hardest job in the world. Some people frantically want to write but their problem is they do not know what to write about and how to write. People write for different purposes. Some write to disseminate knowledge and information while others write to change their society. Still others write to share their ideas and experiences or to experience self-satisfaction. Others simply write to see their names in print.

For whatever reasons other people write, I write to share my experiences, thoughts, opinions, feelings and ideas. Most of the time I am busy with my house, child and students and such a mundane existence sometimes makes me feel that  I am confined by a certain boundary. This makes me tense and impatient. Then my writing comes to the rescue. When I sit down to write something, I feel good. The day when I see my article published, I am greatly satisfied. I feel my views have finally reached other people and my voice is being heard. For me, writing is the best way to express myself.

Writing is important in other ways too. It captures human history and civilization in black and white. If all the religions, cultures, literature, art and histories of the world had not been recorded in writing, we would be ignorant of all these treasures.

There are so many examples to prove that effective writing can immortalize people and even bring changes in society. Though the modern era has been entirely dominated by new technologies like television, Internet and radio, writing has its own safe place among them. writing is more permanent, more timeless than the other media.

History has proved that writing is evergreen and that its importance is immeasurable. To borrow Mickey Spillane’s words, “If you are a singer, you lose your voice. A baseball player loses his arm. A writer gets more knowledge, and if he’s good, the older he gets, the better he writes.”

(Published in an English daily The Kathmandu Post on Wednesday, August 4, 2004)