Cover of Right to Write

Right to Write

Right to Write

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What do a ballot and a blank page have in common? Both require you to believe your voice matters. And both are absolutely useless if you never do anything with them.This is my writing quarter.Everything—and I mean everything—should be focused on writing.My job during this season is simple: to encourage you, motivate you, and get you into those chairs. Whether you’re transcribing, dictating, punching keys on a keyboard, or riding around with a notebook tucked into your bag, I want you writing.That’s my commitment to you.But as always, we live in a world.And this world has ups and downs. There are wars, political diatribes, disasters, and the everyday frustrations that make us want to scream into the void.And then there’s The Cheesecake Factory.Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: LPETTET / Getty (from the Atlantic asking to leave the Cheesecake Factory out of the fight)Yes, it still exists. It’s gaudy and gold and over the top, like former President Obama alluded to this past weekend in Cleveland. New York Times spent time on Cheesecake Factory!We go for the spectacle, the oversized plates and, the cheesecake. It’s still delicious. And yes, sometimes a slice of cheesecake seems like the only reasonable response to the madness happening around us.But since I would still like to fit into my wardrobe, I have to find another way to process my feelings.For me, that way is writing.And maybe it can be for you.Writing Through the MadnessOne of the reasons I talk to you every week is that I need a place to channel my emotions. Sometimes that emotion is joy. Sometimes it’s frustration. And sometimes, it’s rage—hot, burning lava.I need a place to spew about my perspective on the world. Not because my perspective is more important than anyone else’s, but because I’m a writer.And a writer has to write.The emotions I experience need somewhere to go. If I don’t process them, they’ll occupy every corner of my brain until I feel like my head might explode.So I write.I write about what troubles me. I write about what inspires me. I write about the things I cannot change and the things I desperately wish I could.Sometimes I pour those feelings onto the page. Other times, I consider pouring them into a cheesecake.But again, the wardrobe must work.So writing wins.Now, you might be wondering what any of this has to do with today’s lesson.That’s a fair question.I know it sounds as though I’m rambling, but I promise I have a point.You do not have to wait for the perfect moment to write.You do not have to wait for the perfect words, the perfect atmosphere, the perfect inspiration, or the perfect alignment of the planets.You simply need to write.Free Your Mind by Filling the PageI’m a tremendous proponent of journaling.Take a notebook, a notepad, or even an artist’s sketchbook and put your feelings on those pages.They don’t have to be beautiful.They don’t have to be organized.They don’t have to even make sense to anyone but you.The point is to release the thoughts that have taken up residence in your mind without paying rent.Think about how much mental energy we spend replaying conversations, worrying about current events, or imagining everything that might go wrong.Those thoughts take up space.Writing them down can help free that space.And once you’ve released some of that emotional clutter, you may discover that you have more room for the creative work you actually want to do.Your novel.Your short story.Your poem.Your next great idea.Sometimes, before you can create the world you imagine, you have to make peace with the world you’re living in.And that brings me to something else that’s been on my mind.Your Voice Matters Beyond the PageWe’re in an election season.So I’m going to take this opportunity to say something important.Make a plan. Get informed. Go vote.Exercise your civic duty.People have fought, suffered, bled, and died for the right to enter a voting booth and make their voices heard.That is not an exaggeration.Think about the generations of people who were denied the ballot because of their race or sex. Think about the suffragists who marched, protested, and endured imprisonment. Think about the civil rights activists who faced violence while demanding equal access to the polls.Think about the people who marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma in 1965 and were beaten for demanding voting rights.Think about Jimmie Lee Jackson, whose death helped inspire the Selma voting rights campaign. Think about Reverend James Reeb and Viola Liuzzo, who were killed during that struggle.These were real people who paid extraordinary prices for the freedoms we exercise today.And yet, I still hear people say, “My vote doesn’t matter.”Really?Look at your gas prices.Look at the cost of beef.Look at your grocery bills, your taxes, your schools, your roads, and the policies that shape your everyday life.No single elected official controls all those prices or ...
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