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Why I Write

Essay

Why I Write

Joan Didion

The essay explores the deep, often instinctive reasons for writing, grounded in memory, observation, and a need to make sense of experience. Through vivid recollections and introspective moments, it reveals how the drive to put words together isn’t just about storytelling—it’s a way of thinking, of discovering meaning, and of shaping a personal vision of the world.

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Thoughts

1mo ago

I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.

writing

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