I saw another Substacker post with this question, which got me thinking and further prompted me to create this post.
Simply put, I have no choice—writing is as essential to me as breathing, eating, or drinking water. Without it, I can’t imagine life. It’s not a hobby or a career for me—it’s an integral part of my existence. It keeps me connected to myself and the world around me.
Writing allows me to process my thoughts, emotions, and experiences in a way nothing else ever has. When life feels overwhelming or confusing, words become my anchor. It’s a space where I can make sense of the chaos and find meaning in the simplest moments.
But it’s more than just self-expression—it’s about connection, too. Through writing, I reach out to others, sharing pieces of my soul in a raw way that I can’t do unless I’m writing. I hope to resonate with other people in a way that can’t be done unless it is in a reader/writer way. It’s a bridge between myself and the reader, where the words on the page create a bond. The beauty of writing is that it has the power to make someone feel less alone.
Writing has never let me down. Even when I was a terrible writer, it never gave up on me. It’s always been there—unforgiving. Accepting me at whatever stage I was in. Just me and my laptop. (And in the beginning, it was just me and my spiral notebook.) Creating imaginary people I wished were real, and crafting worlds I desperately wanted to visit. But only able to accomplish when I opened my manuscript to write. When I closed my eyes to dream of the next word, the next sentence to write. Or opened a book and let it take me away.
My husband (the sweetest human but not much of a reader or writer) once asked me, “Why do you buy so many books? Why not spend the money on an experience?” And I told him, “Because this is an experience for me.” One that I feel with every fiber of my being—visiting places, befriending characters written by someone else, and inspiring me to create something of my own.
Which brings me back to that very moment, so many years ago, when I laid back in my bed and opened Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. It took me somewhere I had never been. It made me feel things I had never felt. It forced me to create something of my own. I’m almost 30 years old now, and this is the only book I reread every single year to remember the feeling I had when I was just a little girl opening it for the first time. I hope someday to create something that resonates as deeply as that very book resonated with my soul.
So ultimately, I write because it’s an act of living fully. It’s not just something I do; it’s something that does me. It shapes my identity. It molds my path, and it connects me to the people, the stories, and the worlds I care deeply about. And so, I write—because I can’t imagine not ever doing so.
XO,
ZARA JADE ASTRID
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