Harrison Moore on Why We Write

At our first monthly Zoom Drop-in for readers of The Spiritual Life Writing Workbook, we explored the question of why we want to journey into the realm of spiritual life writing.

In this video clip, author Harrison Moore discusses why writers in general want to write, citing four reasons given by George Orwell in his essay Why I Write. Harrison goes on to say, speaking for himself as someone who loves to write, AI won’t change this.

Spoiler alert! Here are the four reasons Orwell cites:

1. Sheer egoism—the desire to be remembered.

2. Aesthetic enthusiasm—pleasure in creating beauty with words.

3. Historical impulse—getting the story straight for posterity.

4. Political/social purpose—wanting to influence people’s behavior.

This seems about right to me, when I think about what I have heard others say and how I feel about my own writing.

Let us Know: Why Do You Write?

We’d love to hear from you in the comments. Why are you interested in trying out spiritual life writing for yourself?

Know someone else who might be interested in exploring spiritual life writing with us? Please share.

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