"Write about what disturbs you. Particularly if it bothers no one else."
These were Elaine Stein's words of advice to Skeeter Phelan (both characters in Kathryn Stockett's book, The Help). Skeeter wanted to become a writer. Miss Stein told her: write.
So that is what I am doing. Writing.
Should I never have a career as a writer, still, I love to write. I think I write better than I speak. The light of my laptop screen is significantly less intimidating than the critical face of another human being. Words sound vastly more powerful when spoken out loud. I feel like if I give my thoughts voice, they are capable of much more damage. That if I just write them, they are harmless. But are they really? I think I know better. In actuality, the written word may have greater influence than the spoken word. We breath out words and they disappear into the breeze. Perhaps no one else hears them besides the walls or the trees around us. We speak them once and perhaps they can be forgotten. They can be misheard. Whispered. Distorted. The written word though...the written word seems more permanent. Things written centuries ago affect us today. One book can be circulated numerous times. Handled by countless fingers. The written word has an intriguing affect. Spoken words certainly do have their affect. Once hurtful words are spoken, the damage can be irreparable. Powerful speeches have set great plans into motion. Spoken words certainly make their impact. Somehow though, there is this amazing difference between writing and speaking. I may be braver to write my thoughts. Writing may feel easier. Less threatening. An invisible audience usually is. And yet. And yet the written word is more lasting. It moves and travels with swiftness and ease. It can leave an indelible mark in its wake. A word spoken is not tangible or visible. It drifts away like cigarette smoke. But we make a few marks on a piece of paper. A couple lines and scratches of ink. Words. Sentences. Paragraphs unfolding into pages, shaping into stories. And it's there. Visible. Real. Permanent.
I hardly think I am the only one who finds it easier to write than to speak out loud. In fact, I know that many people feel the same. I think this feeling is misguiding. Perhaps even dangerous. It makes us less cautious. We write what we would never say out loud. Or we write things we should never say out loud. Some things are better left unsaid. Hiding behind our pen and paper or our computer screens, we become bold. Too bold at times. A weapon as powerful as the written word should be wielded with caution. It should indeed be wielded though. The words we form with our mouths or our pens can effect changes for good as well as harm. I love to dream that what I write could have influence - that I could write positive change into the world. Maybe someday.
For now...I write.
