I have been teaching a class called “Writing is a Friend with Extraordinary Benefits” for a couple of years now through Women on Writing. I have been extremely engaged in what my students write and thrilled by the evidence that by writing from certain models the writers have reaffirmed their belief in the value of writing. After all, in most cases, no one has asked that we write what we write. In most cases, we have written what we write because we are compelled to, and then all too often we feel badly after we write because we don’t think we should have said what we said or because we don’t think anyone else will see what we wrote, or because we want so much to be heard and feel like it is impossible.

None of this is true! You count as someone who has asked you to write. You have every right to share your experience on the page, for yourself to learn more and for others to learn, too. And if you keep writing, you will be heard—first by yourself, next by writing group members or classmates and instructors, and ultimately, I believe, by larger audiences in your locale and beyond. The internet is a very powerful connector and compiler of people interested in human behavior, spirit and experience. There are a huge number of venues online looking for your writing.

So, over the next four weeks, I am going to share versions of the lessons I prepared for the class, and I hope you will do as much of the reading and as many the exercises as possible, and perhaps join us in a future class. Writing about the value of writing really does increase your confidence and courage.

Week One of “Writing is a Friend with Extraordinary Benefits”

Read these columns in the New York Times’ “The Opinionater“: “Writing My Way to a New Self,” and  “On Writing with Others.”

Then read the words of the late Ray Bradbury, one of my favorite authors, on his tips for writers. And this interview with him on writing is worth reading, too.

You might also like “Why We Write About Grief” by Joyce Carol Oates.

Next, there are quotes from more authors in “33 Writers on Why They Write.”

Then, read Judy Brady’s famous essay, “Why I Want a Wife.”

My idea is for you to see what happens if you replace “wife” with “write” (“Why I Want to Write”) and then keep writing as many reasons as you can, being sure to fill them out the way Brady fills out her reasons, rather than just saying things in one sentence. Include anecdotes and details. Don’t judge yourself — you can repeat what other writers have said in your own words and you can put in reasons from the very mundane to the ethereal.

You commitment to your writing will increase after reading what these other writers (yes, you belong to this group) say and rereading what you have written.

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Week Two of “Writing is a Friend with Extraordinary Benefits”

Writers have changed others’ lives as well as their own as a consequence of their writing. In the three sections below, I have listed some of my favorite models for writing to persuade myself about the value of writing and perhaps some doubters as well. It is fun to stretch the persuasive writing muscle.

One of my favorite online literary journals is on McSweeney’s website. It is called “Open Letters to People and Entities Who Are Unlikely to Respond.” Many writers here use the letter-form and write about life events in a way that opens readers’ eyes to an argument concerning an object, job, person or event. Here is one of them, “An Open Letter to the US Immigration Officer Who Confused Me for A Criminal” by Felipe Torres Medina.

My idea is to write an open letter to whoever would probably not listen when it comes to your desire to write. Write to someone who doesn’t believe in you as a writer (even if that person is yourself) or someone who squelched that desire or rode roughshod over it.

We know Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and the Declaration of Independence.  The litany form (repeating phrases that begin lines) in both of these documents is a powerful call to action as it is filled with specifics, and each line ending becomes a building block toward an argument in favor of the highest goals of the human spirit.

My idea is to use the repeated lines of either of these documents and write about yourself as a writer and about your writing at the ends of each line. Declare yourself a writer. Fill out that dream of being a writer!

Sometimes we want to use our writing to persuade ourselves that we have learned to be stronger people: Here is a letter-form essay, “Dear Wisdom,” by Cheryl Strayed, the author of Wild, from her book of letters called Tiny, Beautiful Things:

My idea here is to write a letter to your writing self, starting out with a proclamation of what you are not. Strayed’s letter starts, “Stop worrying about whether you are fat. You are not fat. Or rather, you’re sometimes a little bit fat, but … .” What advice might you write in Strayed-style about being a writer? Stop worrying about whether you are a writer. You are a writer. Or rather, you’re sometimes a ….”

Just think of all the writing you will have done this week if you do all three suggestions. Just think about what doing that writing proves about you being a writer!