Writing gives people the opportunity to express themselves regardless of whether they are writing journalism, fiction or other type of genre. Writing, in its essence, is a soul soother. As the pen hits the page or fingers tap on a keyboard, the writing is the beginning of personal expression. People write for a variety of reasons, but mainly writing serves to provoke change.
Writing to Express Yourself
When people are stressed out or unnerved by certain situations in their lives, writing can tame those qualms. Putting thoughts on a page can help people solve those problems or just provide a sense of peace by expressing their feelings rather than keeping them bottled up inside. Journals, diaries and poetic writing are perfect examples of writing that soothes the soul. These personal memoirs are a collection of memories, good and bad, that the writer wrote about in order to keep a particularly positive memory alive or work out a negative issue.
Writing to Provoke Change
Writing can also be used to provoke change. When people blog or publish books and articles about controversial issues such as abortion or gay marriage, they are using persuasive language to get their point across and convince others that their platform on a certain policy is correct. When writers have a very large audience, they are sometimes able to influence public opinion.
Writing to Gain Attention or Notoriety
Writers can also use their tools to gain attention or notoriety. They may focus on writing about a particular topic to become well-known for their opinions about it. For example, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton has made a name for himself by breaking entertainment news stories, but his site has gained notoriety because of his snarky and sometimes rude comments about celebrities.
Writing for Educational Purpose
Students, regardless of if they're pursuing a high school diploma, bachelor's degree, master's degree or Ph.D., write to enhance their education and fulfill class requirements. This type of writing serves to help students delve deeper into the topics of their classes. For example, if a student studying health writes a paper about premature babies or adult men living with HIV, she will come out with a better understanding of the topic once the paper is written.
People write books for a wide variety of reasons, but in general the underlying reason is that they have a story to share with the world, whether it is fiction or non-fiction. Writing a book gives a writer the opportunity to have his ideas heard by people all over the world.