Purposing Your Writing

Purposing your writing is as important as composing it. It's common for writers to focus solely on subject matter without considering the purpose of writing about it. For any writing project, it's a legitimate question to ask yourself: "Why am I writing this?" In other words, is there a meaningful purpose for writing about your subject matter? Can you affect meaningful change in readers? We often write without thinking about purpose or whether it makes any sense at all to be writing the story or essay or article we're writing. We just proceed on the basis of being inspired to do so. Knowing the purpose of your writing makes you a better writer because every word choice, every nuance of rhythm and style will be specifically engaged to accomplish that purpose. Without a clear sense of purpose, you are just freestyling, hoping that what you write turns out to be something useful. Wouldn't it be better to go into a writing project with a clear purpose already in mind? Purpose helps you develop your writing and gives you the momentum necessary to finish a project. Because you have a central focus that drives what you write, you're more likely to stick with it until it's finished. Subject matter, inspiration, theme and story line - all are important to effective writing. But purpose is the glue that holds them all together. Find your purpose as a writer and you will have discovered your power.