Someone once asked me why a reader would write.

Why, when the bookshelves have run out of space?

Why, when there is nothing new under the sun?

A reader, who is better suited turning the pages of a book than creating pages to turn.

A reader who is more at ease conversing with a novel than with another human should not fiddle with the keyboard.

A reader should read.

 

So, why should she write?

Is it money that urges her?

There is wealth enough in the knowledge gained from reading.

Is it fame?

There is fame enough in wisdom.

No.

It is to communicate with the world, to imitate the authors she loves, but most importantly, to find her voice–

to express the thoughts that she does not have the courage to say out loud.

 

Because sometimes my voice gets stuck.

It sticks to the sides of my throat, refusing to budge no matter how many times I clear it.

But writing, writing is like tea.

Swallow, and away wash the lumps, the clumps, the doubts, the fears.

And up, up rise the words, the ideas, that before I could only think to myself, that were caught in my throat and hidden in the coils of my brain.

Writing allows my voice to flow.

It allows me to say what I could not say.

Because it is 7 times easier to speak on paper than on air.

7 times easier to speak to the page than to pairs of eyes.

Writing gives me the courage to speak.

This reader writes to share her own thoughts, because writing is the tea that sets her voice free.