05/30/2025
When you’re in school, especially college, writing becomes about practicality. That’s not to say that it can’t still be fun or artistic, but the emphasis is on functionality and deadlines. After three years of college, I’ve learned to harness my writing and concentrate my output. And that’s all fine and well. But lately, I’ve been rediscovering imagination and play in my writing.
James Joyce once said, “Writing in English is the most ingenious torture ever devised for sins committed in previous lives.” As a fellow writer, I can certainly sympathize on most days. But we shouldn’t forget to also find the joy in it -- that unbeatable feeling that drives us to write in the first place. After all, if you don’t love it, why write?
In my own writing life lately, embracing this has looked like loosening up a little and trying not to be so hard on myself about results. Get excited about words. Play a word game on your phone, flip through a dictionary or thesaurus, use writing prompts. And most importantly, don’t take yourself too seriously. Especially when you’re in the process of putting together something new and just working through it, make sure you give yourself room to play.
I was always the kid who got in trouble for daydreaming instead of doing my math homework. And now, years later, I’m still that same girl (only I don’t have any math homework). Daydreaming is a staple in the life of a writer. Imagination breeds enjoyment; enjoyment, a good story.
Perhaps this has all been said before, but let this be your little reminder today to find joy in the act of creation and let your stories and characters marinate, play, and change.
Keep writing!