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Sarah Kaufman
Mrs. Crichton
AP Language
15 June 2013
Why I Write
At a young age, I did all the writing that every young student does. From essays to
research papers, I viewed writing as an academic activity similar to math, in that I would never
wish to do it outside of school. It was not until I reached middle school that I even considered
writing as more than an assignment.
As a child, I found it quite difficult to make friends. In fact, I was more likely to find
myself with a bully than a companion. I did not understand why other children had playmates
and smiles while I sat alone. I was not any different from them. The real world seemed cold and
cruel and unfair, so I often created my own. In my mind, I lived in a world where I could be a
hero whom everyone loves, a great leaders main love interest, or a cat. In my mind, I created
whole universes without even realizing it. However, the idea that any of these could have been
written down was ludicrous. When I was eleven years old, my English teacher and I had quite a
few disagreements. I cannot recall what they were about now, but it was perhaps the lack of
enjoyable writing in class that led me to attempting my first play. It was, of course, atrocious.
That was the extent of my writing outside school until 2010.
In seventh grade, I fell in love with a movie. How to Train Your Dragon was my first, but
certainly not last, obsession. I saw the movie over eighteen times, but, as all movies do, it
eventually stopped playing in theaters. Of course, now I own it on Blu-Ray, but in the seemingly
ridiculously long time gap between when Dragons left theaters and came out on DVD, I felt
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more than a little lost. There were news announcements I found online, advertising not only a
sequel, but also an entire trilogy! Not to mention a television show. However, the show was not
set to air for another three years, and the sequel not for another four. It was devastating. I wanted
more stories so badly. It was Christmas of 2010 when I discovered fan fiction. My sister had
written fan fiction for the Harry Potter Series when I was around seven. Now, as I had matured in
six years, the idea of people who love a movie or book as much as I did coming up with their
own adventures for characters to overcome sounded marvelous. At first, I only read. I was a
silent observer of others work. Eventually, though, I decided to write my own. It was a great
success. My story, Mother Dearest achieved over a hundred reviews from excited fans.
Orwell writes that an authors subject matter will be determined by the age he lives in
(Orwell 2), a sentiment with which I agree with wholeheartedly. Most books that are embraced
by people hold some relevance to the readers current life. Unwind, by Neal Shusterman, had the
undertones of a statement about abortion. The Hunger Games was written to reveal the horrors of
war. Stories that I write, however, do not make some profound statement about the state of the
world we live in.
In fact, many books, by many authors, are simply loved for no deeper reason. For
example, the Twilight Series, which is loved by millions, yet holds little to no meaningful subject
matter. Like me, some people write to fulfill dreams of fantasies that may never occur in reality.
Just as Twilight is loved by teenagers who are living vicariously through the protagonist, Bella,
fan fiction is written and read by those who have their own ideas about characters and stories and
wish to share them with others.
Orwell also discusses a writers need for attention. Since my first leading role in eighth
grade, I have been convinced that I am going to be a performer. Ive always loved the theater,
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but lately Ive been questioning this decision. I am a being who strives for stability, and the life
of an actor is anything but stable. However, the theater gives me something I need desperately,
sheer egoism (Orwell 3). In the words of Megan Hilty at the 2013 Tony Awards, we perform
for Everybody to see [us] and love [us] because after all, thats essentially what we all crave
because nobody ever hugged us as children which is how we got into this business in the first
place. In summary, we perform for attention; which is the same reason I like to write, to be
recognized and noticed.
Another motivation Orwell discusses is the urge to display political opinions. Recently, I
found myself outraged over the state of our educational system. The idea that my peers and I are
being educated the same way that children have been taught for three hundred years is insane.
My reaction was to write a letter to Californias Board of Education. This experience has led me
to consider a career in politics. I would like to make a difference in peoples lives through both
any type of literature, and my actions. It was my political opinion which led me to write. Much
of writing is completely and utterly based in political purpose (Orwell 3).
While Orwell had many interesting ideas about an authors impetus to write, I believe
that every writer needs to find their own motivation, and its different for everyone. It may be to
make a statement of current affairs. For some, it may be egoism and/or politics, but for others it
may be the need to fulfill fantasies. Some may write only on order to achieve a passing grade. I
write for recognition, but also to stand up for what I believe in.





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Word Count 962