Why do I write?
I write because, in my head, there are stories that only I know about. There are characters, plotlines, love, betrayals, and heartbreak, and I alone have the power to follow these stories until their eventual ending. The power is mine to decide how each ending should play out. Some endings are happy. Sometimes, the characters achieve everything they want. Other times, the reality of death and disaster in real life bleed into the stories. It’s up to me to make that distinction and if I don’t do it, no one will.
Why do I write?
I write because of the people in my life. I have met more people than I can name. I’ve met complete strangers and often have seen them become so close to me that I couldn’t imagine ever living a life without having met them. Each person I meet inspires me uniquely, and I remember something about them particularly. Maybe it’s the way they talk, the way they dress, their blunt honesty, or their sense of humor. After every conversation, I leave with a little bit of that person, now part of me and my own identity. If I don’t write, that little bit will stay inside me forever. It’s up to me to release it and to let it out. The best way to do that, of course, is by simply, yet at the same time, purposely, writing.
Why do I write?
I write because, in my apartment, I can sit on the couch and scroll through social media. I can turn on the TV and watch a movie I’ve watched a million times. I can replenish my cat’s water dish and clean her litter box. I can stay up late into the night or go to bed before the moon is even fully out. I can turn on my fireplace and sit in my beanbag chair. I can make instant noodles for dinner and then leave the dishes in my sink for far too long. I can do so many things that are so meaningless and that have become so part of my routine that I can do them on autopilot. But when I sit down at my desk, open up my laptop, and pull up a blank screen, I can put something into the world that has never been there before. I can do something that requires all of my focus. I can do something meaningful.
So, why do you write?
Gillian Corsiatto hails from Alberta, Canada, right between two major cities: Calgary and Edmonton. She has been a lifelong writer, and her first book Duck Light was published in 2021. Since then, she has been motivated to keep at her writing and further it into an established career, even branching out into writing for the theatre. Currently, a sequel to Duck Light is underway, but she still pumps out scripts and short stories whenever an idea creeps into her mind. You can find her mostly at her writing desk, probably with a cat in her lap, and maybe even spinning a fidget spinner. She thinks those are still cool.
Featured image by Thought Catalog.
