Authored Pieces
Written Words
What is writing and why do we write?
People around the world employ written symbols to express themselves and communicate meaning. We share stories, note financial transactions, record history, imagine the future, and express love, hatred, or humour. Writing allows access to knowledge otherwise unattainable. Through the written word, we may trace the evolution of ideas over more than a thousand years. We may ague for or against the opinions of people long dead or rediscover knowledge thought lost all because the page preserves the collected and recorded knowledge.
According to historians, the earliest form of writing on record appeared in approximately 3000 BC, when Sumerians in ancient Mesopotamia - modern day Iraq - wrote on clay tablets. However, not everyone is as sold upon the idea of the written word as I am. For example, the Iron Age Celts, a highly sophisticated society, knew about writing, but preferred to learn everything by heart and convey their history and stories by word of mouth. Yet, the conveyance of a story from person to person is an exceptionally fluid process - much more so than reading fixed text on a page. In the process of retelling a story, and listening to one, subtle changes may alter the story over time or even change it completely. Varying experiences and interpretations influence the meaning of the story and affect how the teller chooses to pass it on. Conversely, since the late 1800s, advances in technology have had profound effect on society's dependence on writing. Recording equipment allows for the recording of stories, preserving them in time for as long as the physical record remains intact. Moreover, radio, telephones, and the internet allow for instant communication around the globe. This means that the retelling of a story or the conveying of knowledge no longer needs to alter the information from generation to generation.
So, what does this mean for the printed word? Is it obsolete? Do we still need the written word at all? In short, individuals must decide the answers to these questions for themselves. For my part, the tactile sensation of the printed page and the smell of paper, still hold a romantic fascination, from which I can never wholly divest myself. For me, there is nothing quite like the aroma of a new book, or an old one, and the enthralment that comes with the turning of the first page. Writing is a conscious act of recording, and the word, once written, becomes fixed upon the page. Although readers may interpret, review, and argue over a piece of writing in various ways, the text itself does not change.
Why do authors write? Well, I am unable to speak for other authors; doubtless, they will have plenty to say on the matter in their own rites. As for myself though, I write for the sheer pleasure of the process and for the enjoyment of the developing tale. Instead of merely absorbing written material, I am creating it, the same fascination gripping my imagination from word to word, line to line, and page to page as images fill my mind and become text upon the page. In short, I write for the love of it, and hope others will someday enjoy reading that which I have written.
- Jason E. Collinge