Why do we read? Why do we write?
So, I'm going to start off with a couple of philosophical questions. But I guess I'm getting ahead of myself.
My name is Jeff Diamond, and I'm a writer (waits for group to say "Hi, Jeff.). I've been writing professionally and semi-professionally for about eight years now, three of which were technical translation, editing and writing and about six of which have been creative writing. Before you try crunching the numbers on that, just know there's some overlap.
Now that a personal introduction is done, I guess we can get to the slightly meatier stuff.
Why on earth do people read?
At a base level, people read to learn things. We, as a species, thrive when we have the written word as a way to communicate knowledge over long distances. Think of the difference between playing the children's game telephone where you whisper ear to ear in a large group, versus handing a printed page between those same people. The ink on the page will not change. The spoken word will—often with comedic outcomes.
But if we were only writing to preserve a way of communicating, why do we have libraries full of information, both factual and non-factual?
The simple answer is this: People crave stories.
As far back as we can tell, people have been telling stories to one another, whether it was the oral histories which were finally put down on scrolls of parchment, or great tales that later made their way into stone reliefs in the Egyptian, Sumerian or Sanskrit languages. Some of the oldest epics have made their way down to us—the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Mahabarata and the Odyssey among the most famous. Sure, people read in order to learn things, as cave paintings depict—what animals the people hunted, some of the nearby landmarks, etc. But reading for pleasure has grown with that need for the informational word. Perhaps even surpassing that need in more modern times.
But why do we write?
This is a trickier question. Sure, without writers, there would be no readers. But I doubt many ancient peoples thought much about the circulation of their work. Homer put down the Odyssey and the Iliad because they were verse that told epic stories of heroes, fierce monsters and hard-fought battles against impossible odds. Many ancient texts were written as scripture, and many folk legends have come down to us from these traditions. That doesn't mean we need to write them down. People had been doing a good job of memorizing things and reciting them for centuries without putting them down in words (although how they did that is beyond me).
In my opinion, the answer isn't as clear-cut as the previous one, but still fairly obvious when you think about it: Some people love to tell stories.
I happen to be one of these people, and I know a good many other people who are the same way. It's not enough to simply consume the stories we love. It's a compulsion to give back to the literary community that has given us so much throughout our lives. I may not speak for everyone, but I know that my literary life began when I was young and has grown with me, leading me to having a book nearly finished and in talks with publishing houses. I love writing stories (despite the challenges that come about), and I can't imagine my life without doing it.
So there you have it. I've been told I have a roundabout way of saying things, so hopefully this isn't a completely disorganized mess, but hopefully as we continue on down the road, things will move a little more smoothly.
And now back to the books,
Jeff
My name is Jeff Diamond, and I'm a writer (waits for group to say "Hi, Jeff.). I've been writing professionally and semi-professionally for about eight years now, three of which were technical translation, editing and writing and about six of which have been creative writing. Before you try crunching the numbers on that, just know there's some overlap.
Now that a personal introduction is done, I guess we can get to the slightly meatier stuff.
Why on earth do people read?
At a base level, people read to learn things. We, as a species, thrive when we have the written word as a way to communicate knowledge over long distances. Think of the difference between playing the children's game telephone where you whisper ear to ear in a large group, versus handing a printed page between those same people. The ink on the page will not change. The spoken word will—often with comedic outcomes.
But if we were only writing to preserve a way of communicating, why do we have libraries full of information, both factual and non-factual?
The simple answer is this: People crave stories.
As far back as we can tell, people have been telling stories to one another, whether it was the oral histories which were finally put down on scrolls of parchment, or great tales that later made their way into stone reliefs in the Egyptian, Sumerian or Sanskrit languages. Some of the oldest epics have made their way down to us—the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Mahabarata and the Odyssey among the most famous. Sure, people read in order to learn things, as cave paintings depict—what animals the people hunted, some of the nearby landmarks, etc. But reading for pleasure has grown with that need for the informational word. Perhaps even surpassing that need in more modern times.
But why do we write?
This is a trickier question. Sure, without writers, there would be no readers. But I doubt many ancient peoples thought much about the circulation of their work. Homer put down the Odyssey and the Iliad because they were verse that told epic stories of heroes, fierce monsters and hard-fought battles against impossible odds. Many ancient texts were written as scripture, and many folk legends have come down to us from these traditions. That doesn't mean we need to write them down. People had been doing a good job of memorizing things and reciting them for centuries without putting them down in words (although how they did that is beyond me).
In my opinion, the answer isn't as clear-cut as the previous one, but still fairly obvious when you think about it: Some people love to tell stories.
I happen to be one of these people, and I know a good many other people who are the same way. It's not enough to simply consume the stories we love. It's a compulsion to give back to the literary community that has given us so much throughout our lives. I may not speak for everyone, but I know that my literary life began when I was young and has grown with me, leading me to having a book nearly finished and in talks with publishing houses. I love writing stories (despite the challenges that come about), and I can't imagine my life without doing it.
So there you have it. I've been told I have a roundabout way of saying things, so hopefully this isn't a completely disorganized mess, but hopefully as we continue on down the road, things will move a little more smoothly.
And now back to the books,
Jeff
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