Writing as a Way to Connect

Writing has been such an important way for me to connect with others during this period of isolation. … I think back to what Phillip Lopate said about our writing helping readers to feel a little less lonely and freakish; I feel grateful for the writers I’ve been able to read this year who have helped me to do just that!

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Ann Blakeslee
Writing Matters to Me Because...

Writing matters to me because it helps me live in greater alignment with the world. It allows me to more deeply explore and participate. It helps me pay attention. Writing is a conversation and a vehicle for empathy.

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Ann Blakeslee
Why Writing Matters to Me

Writing helps me keep my thoughts from running wild.

Writing helps me stay in touch with my family.

Writing helps me put everyday events in perspective.

Writing helps me survive this chaotic world.

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Ann Blakeslee
Why does writing matter?

Does writing matter?

To me it is as breathing

For writing is life.

Writing is the air

Rushing through bodies with life

It’s necessary.

Writing is the earth

Giving something to stand on

It permeates life.

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Ann Blakeslee
Why I Write?

Writing is a place that I enjoy visiting on a regular basis. Sometimes, I stay for long periods of time and other times I avoid it all together. I may visit every day or choose to take long hiatuses, but low in behold I cannot avoid this place forever. In this place, sometimes there is a warm stranger there to welcome me with open arms and other times I feel all alone. The more I write, the more this place becomes more real to me.

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Ann Blakeslee
Writing with Purpose

Writing, in contrast with merely talking, matters most to me because, in my life journeys, it has shown itself as my most effective means of expressing and sharing my thoughts and ideas about given issues or given happy news of the day, be they of a social, political, or economic nature. I am an inspirational writer, and by that, I mean that I tend to be prompted to write when there is a purpose to be served, and not just writing for the sake of writing.

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Ann Blakeslee
Creating and Sustaining Human Connections

Whether sending a text to a friend, jotting down a recipe for a family member, working on an essay concerning a topic we feel is important, drafting a screenplay, or emailing a representative to express concerns about issues in our communities, our most important writing is that which speaks to our bonds with those we care about and those we don’t yet know. Writing matters because the people, ideas, and sentiment behind it matters.

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Ann Blakeslee
Writing Records and Helps us Better Ourselves

Writing is important for many reasons. It is how we as humans for centuries have recorded and transcribed our thoughts and emotions. Famous writings of all kinds have lived on long after their original writers have passed. The creation of writing or text of any kind is a fundamental part of the human experience and plays a huge role in the recording of various events, people or moments in time.

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Ann Blakeslee
Writing is the Happy Place in My Brain

I used to dream of being an author, going on book tours, and signing books for admiring crowds. … I’ve now written 16 first draft novels and published four under a pseudonym. My autograph requests are family and friends, which is just fine. My dreams of admiring crowds ignored my glossophobia and ochlophobia, but I am a legit professional author: Amazon directly deposits money in my account from my book sales.

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Ann Blakeslee
Writing to Change Hearts and Minds

When I was 16, I wrote an opinion piece for my high school newspaper—a piece inspired by the passion I felt when a fellow student, a young woman who was also 16, was raked over the coals by other students and community members when she dared to call out her male boss over his behavior toward her. She must have asked for it, they said. He’s an important person in the community. It must have been her fault.

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Kristin Vaughn