Why We Write
Luis stared at the blank Word document before him and dreamed of what he used to write about: his childhood, his relationship, his spirituality. He has written a personal essay about his grandfather that made his best friend cry. He has bared his soul to his readers, has even made a poem about engineering, his college course.
He looked outside the jalousie and saw the ricefields—vast and empty. Half of the scenery was the sky, and the other half plain greenery. His room, similarly, had unpainted concrete for walls and unvarnished plywood for ceilings. Everything was bare.
His phone vibrated. It was an email from the Ripple literary magazine.
“Good day. After reviewing a thousand submissions, we are sorry to decline your four poems…”
He scrolled past the consoling parts and deleted the email. “My time will come,” he thought. He pressed home and decided to catch up with some friends, so he tapped the little blue f.
The first post was of Panulaton’s. It was the local magazine where he has sent his grandfather-essay. The post was to announce the authors for its next publication. He opened the photo and looked for his name.
Luis.
Luis.
Luis…
He closed the app and placed his phone beside the computer. My time will come. He exhaled, not sigh, just the normal exhale. He stared at the bare ceiling and contemplated his future and the future of his writing career. The semester will start again next week, and in two more years, he would become an engineer. He could go abroad and earn a big salary. He can quit writing.
He picked up his phone. There was a new email.
“Do you want to win $50 and get published? Entry is free!”
He raised his chest and chin and exhaled rather forcefully. His keyboard started clicking.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleReally enjoyed your story Terence. It’s nice to have that incentive to write, but sometimes, for some of us, the joy of writing… the compulsion, has to be enough. Well done anyway. Excellent first story on the site.
Thank you, Carrie. I think I forgot the stories should be sort of wholesome content.
Hello, I enjoyed this story. Many people will be inspired by beautiful things or poignant moments, but there’s no reason to discount being inspired by a challenge, and nothing unwholesome about it either. Someone will be inspired by Luis’s persistence.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleThank you so much, Sir. Your comment made my day. ? I imagine my grandfather patting my back with this story because of you. I am 18.
Hello Terence, first a big welcome to the Voice club. Tell Luis, the moment he realizes that his writing is a personal joy, it will become its own reward, and not about status or money. Then everything will change, he will become the poet and writer that he longs to be. The bareness of the walls will become nature’s patterns where colour abounds, for he will have uncovered that which we all… Read more »
Thanks for the welcome and the constructive feedback, Eric. I appreciate it a lot.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleThe very fact that Luis wrote an essay about his grandfather that made his best friend cry says it all for me Terence. A career in engineering may follow but Luis will always write and his time may well come. It’s in his soul.
I agree with the other commentators here, Terence, including their welcoming words and the encouragements to keep writing not only to gain fame and fortune, but for the joy and love for it. The big success might come, but if it doesn’t, it’s not an indication that your writing isn’t good enough. As long as you “bare your soul to your readers” writing will be its own reward. Keep going!
My LIKE to your story as well, Terence. “His keyboard started clicking,” you told. Led by the most beautiful of the inspiration: to become a writer.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleDisappointments and rejections breed self-doubt 🙁 Stamp your feet, sulk for a little while, give yourself a treat… then get up the next morning and start again. It WILL happen! And, Luis has already inspired many of us who have been through a similar gamut of emotions, as we remember the bad days when we were tempted to give up. But we didn’t 🙂 And, now here we are on Voice Club,… Read more »
Hello, Terrence. I enjoyed your story. The phrase you used “My time will come” really inspires me. Your passion for writing will bear a sweet fruit someday. I agree with Christer, if the big success in writing might not come to you now, it doesn’t mean your writing is not good enough. Just keep going. As for me, knowing that your reader enjoyed and was inspired by your story, that is a… Read more »
I enjoyed your story, Terence. Many will be guided by your effort.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleWhat a realistic story! This could easily be a part of someone’s day and that’s what’s so inspiring! I do hope more people read your story, Terence, and get inspired to pick up the pen( or type in the keyboard) and enter the world of writing.