Why Even Write?
Answers: Pragmatic, Existential, Psychological, Ethical and Evolutionary
If you have been following me on TikTok recently, I have been playing around with stock videos, copyright-free sound, and CapCut - the quick video editing software that’s not only quite powerful but very easy-to-use. I say this not because I am an expert video-editor but I played around a fair share with Sony Vegas and Adobe Premiere when I was young. The verdict: CapCut is good!
The rise of visual media has raised a question which is primarily existential in nature. Existential for perhaps everyone, but to writers in particular. Why write?
The latest video that I made in CapCut is a poetry that ChatGPT wrote with a couple lines of prompting. It’s not good enough for one immersed in the world of poetry for a while, but for the most part, it’s pretty good. And within 10-15 minutes, the video was ready. ChatGPT, stock videos, CapCut and its in-built copyright-free music library. Crazy!
I posted it and suddenly I have a viewership of 230 people. Not that it is any good. But the immediacy of it all is astounding and mind-blowing. Perhaps even pen-stattering. So why write in such a technologically-evolved world where production and distribution of visual content is so fast and easy?
The answer is in the fact that there is textual literature in TikTok too. That’s at least a pragmatic answer. BookTok is a good example - a community of book lovers who are sharing information about the latest books that they read. I also actively use Goodreads, and even though the app is clunky, I have thoroughly enjoyed updating my book lists and interacting with the reviews of other ordinary people.
What’s the existential answer then? Perhaps, the answer is that one just has to. There is a voice inside that never dies. And the voice needs an outlet. Writing is one. Out of many, of course. But it is one.
The psychological answer? It is therapy. Or any other word that you call it. Good vibes. Escapism. Reflection. Whatever. It is good for the mind. It keeps the mind healthy. It helps you think. And it helps you think well.
The ethical answer? Stories are unjustly sketched and distributed. There are new styles, voices, methods, and pedagogy of story-telling-and-writing. And these voices are shattering our traditional understanding of what it means to write well. To write means to read and to read new work means to develop paradigm-altering ways-of-living. From you. And then to others.
Evolutionary? I put this fancy term just because Jordon Peterson seems to like it. Evolution is nothing but a theory that Brother Darwin proposed. It is not absolutely true but at least it seems to be a good assumption for how we came to be. If you do want an evolutionary answer, whatever I have written above should suffice. You are here for some reason, you learnt how to write for some reason, you have an inner voice inside you for some reason, and you want it to be out there for some reason. No survival of the fittest. Just a person who wants to speak in words. And be read in and with patience.
So why not write? Maybe now, maybe today, maybe tomorrow, or maybe some day. Why not write? You tell me. Reply back to this or email me at ishanmainali123@gmail.com
Have a beautiful day,
Ishan