In his book, What the Dog Saw, best-selling author, Malcolm Gladwell, makes an interesting point about writing:
“Nothing frustrates me more than someone who reads something of mine or anyone else’s and says, angrily, “I don’t buy it.” Why are they angry? Good writing does not succeed of fail on the strength of its ability to persuade…. It succeeds or fails on the strength of its ability to engage you, to make you think, and to give you a glimpse into someone else’s head – even if in the end you conclude that someone else’s head is not a place you’d really like to be.”
I’ve received a lot of very nice comments over the years from people who, unbeknownst to them, keep me writing because I made them think. Many times they agree with me, but sometimes they don’t. And that’s okay because they were engaged in the process.
Writing is creative expression, similar in many ways to painting, sculpting, music-making, or acting. It’s a way to convey what is in your head to others who may find it interesting, stimulating, or even beautiful. It’s nice if it accomplishes this task. Writers write because they have something to say that they find meaningful. Readers read because they find meaning in what writers write.
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