Writing for Pleasure, Profit, and Posterity

Part One: Why Write?

Writing for pleasure is cheap and satisfying. Anybody can do it once they’ve learned to form letters into words, and it can be turned to all sorts of uses from novel writing to memoir. That makes it the perfect hobby—but writing can do much more than that.

There have been times in my life when I’ve really had to struggle to get out of bed—when I was suffering from postnatal depression, physical health problems such as arthritis or migraine, or even when there was something as simple as a maths test on my horizon.

During every kind of crisis in my life, writing—along with the right kind of professional help—comes to my rescue. Capturing my thoughts gives me something outside of myself to focus on. Once I can see the problem in words, I can focus on it and find a solution.

During lockdown, we’ve all been forced into our own company, possibly for the first time in our lives. It feels strange to be cut loose from the daily routine of commuting, the school run, office politics, and having a good old gossip with friends.

Working from home surrounded only by our closest family (if we’re lucky enough to have them) feels strange at first. It takes some getting used to but it’s actually closer to how people are supposed to live, rather than the nine-to-five grind which gives us so little time to see our partners or children.

Think back to creation stories. Adam and Eve, Lucy, the little group from Laetoli and Australia’s people of the Dreamtime didn’t have tick-boxes, timetables, or clocks. Life was hard for them and let’s face it, often horrible as they discovered which foods were good to eat, which would get them thrown out of Paradise, which animals to chase, and which animals were likely to chase them.

What all those early people did have was each other, open spaces, and stories. Lockdown has made us realise how much we rely on interacting with our friends and family. Lack of space indoors means this can’t always be on our own terms. That’s why it’s such a relief when we can get outside for a change of scene, and take some exercise.

The human race needs the company of its own kind, and to feel fresh air and sunlight on its skin. If those needs can’t be satisfied, the next best thing is to read about someone else experiencing them. That’s why people will always want stories.

If you can satisfy their desire to escape from their own life for a little while by reading about someone else’s experiences, whether fictional or real, then your writing will also be profitable. You’ll have satisfied your creative instinct, and made your readers happy. You may even make some money.

Writing is a great way for everyone on the planet to make their voices heard. You can learn to formulate your arguments into a protest piece, or an email to your member of parliament or other political representative. Writing will also preserve your unique voice for posterity. Life has changed enormously over the past few years. It’s hard to remember how we survived before sat navs, iPhones, and Airbnb for example, so write down your memories. Future generations will love them!

Memoirs by people such as Winifred Foley and Laurie Lee give us glimpses of a life before the Internet Age. Future generations will be fascinated to read about the early years of the twenty-first century, so why not make a start now, by capturing all the strange things we used to do such as smoking in public, or buying paper copies of maps?

Without a doubt, the best thing that’s happened to me over the past few years is going from school dropout to university student. I got the chance to meet all sorts of people, and do things I’d never dreamed of doing—such as becoming managing director of a project to create Heritage, an anthology of new writing.

What’s your favourite pre-lockdown memory?