Why Writing Matters

In the excellent book, Writing With Ease by Susan Wise Bauer, the author points out the indisputable fact that mankind survived many centuries without written language.  The only communication was verbal, and it was quite sufficient.  Well then, do we even need the written word? Why bother learning to write?  And, does learning to write well even matter in our world today when technology will auto-correct our spelling or point out a grammatical error before we even finish a thought?   After all, writing does not sustain life.  Or, does it?  In my opinion, it absolutely does. We are informed, comforted, nourished, and bolstered by other's ideas. Books, articles, blogs, letters, editorials, reviews and speeches have impacted our world in some of the most monumental ways.  Ideas, in and of themselves, are not enough.  Thinking and then writing those ideas clearly and in an impactful way can influence a person, a community, or even the world. In today's world, with all of the great technology available to us, we can write and be heard. Perhaps you have something significant to share with this world.  I bet you do. That is why writing matters.