At the University of Michigan (UM) Wallace House Presents October 2022 event, author and journalist Anna Quindlen joined UM Literature, Science, and the Arts dean Anne Curzan to discuss Quindlen’s book Write for Your Life and how anyone can write.
And why everyone should.
Reinforcing the important role of journalism in our society, Wallace House events bring journalists to the university community and public to discuss what they’re writing about.
The aim of Wallace House events: encourage civic engagement and open conversations between informed people of different backgrounds and points of view.
Quindlen’s conversation brought back memories of handwriting letters in grade school, my dad’s beautiful cursive writing, and connections from long ago I only remember when I see their handwriting.
What I enjoyed was Quindlen’s focus on encouraging everyone to write and share their story.
Thanks to the livestream, I watched the online conversation with Quindlen and Curzan as well as the Q&A session at the end of the talk.
Here are my notes.
Write for Your Life: An Evening with Anna Quindlen
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In America, we’ve developed the idea that if someone is good at something, it’s because they can do it effortlessly. Writing is an exercise in confidence.
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Writing is intimidating and hard, says Quindlen. “I sit down at the computer every morning with a sense of impending dread.”
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Whether you’re writing a letter to a grandchild or writing a novel, the only thing you bring is your personality. It’s your fingerprint. That’s why people go on writing novels and letters.
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You’re distinct and unique in the world, that’s embedded in your writing
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Quindlen encouraged people to write a postcard or sign your name on a card. “Some day someone will find it and feel tremors in their heart that nothing else can provide.” Who hasn’t had that feeling?
You don’t get that feeling from a typed note.
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How many of you keep a box or drawer of letters and notes that people have written to you? Or that you want to keep a memory of? That’s the power of the written word. (Personally, I have several boxes of letters, notes, and cards.)
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Working in a male-dominated field, journalism was challenging for Quindlen.
I stood on the shoulders of people who came before me and I had a moral obligation to offer my shoulders to those who would come after me.
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People say they can’t write because, “I’m not a real writer.” Quindlen disagrees. We need to know your stories.
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Without those individual stories, we don’t understand. It’s important to have the stories of ordinary people’s lives.
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Does your writing serve your readers? Is anybody going to read it and care about it? You’re having a conversation with someone. If you’re not having a conversation, you’re doing your writing wrong.
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Parallel charts in the medical field are for health professionals to share info they know about a patient that isn’t written in a medical chart. It’s a way to connect with a patient in a more humane, personal way. Powerful.
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If you’re writing in texts, Instagram, etc., where will you find those writings in 10-15 years? What are you doing to preserve your writing? What Quindlen fears about technology: it’s easy to lose it.
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Everyone can be a writer. Even if you don’t think of yourself as a writer.
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If we want history to reflect who we were and what we cared about, everyone needs to write our own histories in our own ways
