Day 241: Why I Write
Why write blog posts? I have asked myself this question several times since I started my blog back in 2016. It seemed like the natural thing to do when I started my business Strength of Atlantis. But what about now, four years after I started writing a blog?
Long before I started photography I dreamed of becoming a writer. I was around the age of ten when I finished writing my first short story. My first passion was writing, I loved creating story ideas and coming up with unique characters (they almost always looked like me if they were the main character). I had plans for series and had written two and a half books for my action and adventure.
Writing was my first love.
And in a way writing is still a large part of my life, just not in the same way it was. It has been years since I picked up a pen (or I should say opened my laptop) to write on any of the stories that I dreamed of writing. I miss creating in that way and I hope that one day I will carve out time to sit down and write the stories that have been on my mind forever.
However, as of now, I spend much of my writing time venturing down more personal and applicable avenues. In this post I would like to share a couple of the types of writing I continue to participate in and how they keep me connected to my first love.
With every image I create and share on Instagram, I spend time writing a caption that I feel communicates the message behind the photo. It allows me to express my writing side right next to my photography side in a way that allows each to compliment the other. With these captions, I try to avoid telling my audience what the photo means and instead create a few sentences that express the image in written form. It allows me to share why I created the image and what message I see behind the photo.
Writing in the form of blog posts is something I stumbled upon and have recently discovered more of a passion for. By writing blog posts I am able to share more details behind my photographs as well as the meaning behind each image I create. It is an easy form of writing that allows people to connect in a deeper way than through other forms of social media. It gives me room to write down all of my thoughts without worrying about word limits. I can expand upon ideas I expressed in my caption or such as this blog post share what I have been thinking about recently. It is an easy outlet to express myself both through images and the written word.
Then the form of writing I cherish above all others is writing in my journal.
Ever since I was little I have kept a journal. It all started in a spiral bound notebook that took years to fill up and has since progressed to filling a leather bound notebook with 192 pages in 2-3 months. It is part of me now and if I stray from writing in my journal for more than two or three days my fingers itch to spill ink onto the page. Journaling allows me to think and process all that is going on in my life and in my mind. I’m not sure how I functioned before I wrote in my journal as much as I do now.
If I happen to stray from writing for longer than a day, I begin to lose sight of myself. My thoughts and emotions become scrabbled and consuming. When I write I am able to process them and get them off my chest. Writing in my journal keeps me grounded in who I am, helps me make sense of who I used to be, and make plans for who I want to be. I’m not sure what I would be without the ability to journal.
As you can see, writing is still a huge part of my life. It is still one of my many loves, without it I am not sure where I would be. I would like to encourage you to try writing as well. Maybe not in the form of a blog post or a caption, maybe not even in the form of a journal. But find a genre of writing that you enjoy and try putting your pen to a page. Let it flow out from you, you would be surprised at how much you learn about yourself from writing.
Writing is about discovering the words hidden deep within your soul.
Until Next Time,
Lillian Merritt
