Why I Write by Joan Didion

In her essay Joan Didion wrote, "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." This statement is not only very beautiful, but for me, it sums up the reason I like to write as well. I keep a journal and I've found it to be enormously helpful when dealing with dilemmas. If you can look at a situation from the perspective of coherent thoughts gathered on a page, then it's easier to make a clear-minded decision.
I also enjoyed what she had to say on imagery and the imagery she incorporated into her piece. Imagery is something I look for when I read and a skill I would like to further develop in my own writing. The descriptions of her experience on the Greyhound bus to Berkley were very vivid.
Her opening statement sparked my curiosity for what it was that George Orwell had to say on writing so I looked it up. Interestingly enough both authors brought up Paradise Lost in their essays. For Joan, Paradise Lost didn't seem to make an impression but George Orwell claimed it was when he "discovered the joy of mere words, i.e. the sounds and associations of words". Joan Didion made a similar comparison when she said she's "a person whose most absorbed and passionate hours are spent arranging words on pieces of paper." I too would categorize myself as someone who enjoys words for the sake of words- the way they look, sound, and everything they can stand for when placed juxtaposed to one another.