Writing of, for, as Hope

Entertain these three phrases for a second, if you will:
writing of hope
writing for hope
writing as hope.


What do they mean to you? To me, this is what I think:
writing of hope: when you record ideas about an uplifting, inspiring event
writing for hope: when you record ideas with the intention of spreading positivity and inspiration
writing as hope: when you record ideas as a means of creating positivity and inspiration


If we were in class right now, I'd have started off our day by showing you a brief excerpt from an interview with Margaret Atwood, back in 2018. We'd start the clip around 8:22, when the student interviewer asks, " Lots of your novels are based in a dystopian society. We, as humans, take comfort in believing that the future will be brighter than the present or the past. Post-Trump do you believe this?" (8:22-8:32).

Atwood responds: "Having seen the pushback I actually am quite hopeful, because although there is this desire to roll time back, you also see a lot of people saying 'no, that is not going to happen.; But it is a struggle you know- right now there are two opposing forces, and of course you're optimistic because the mere act of writing is an act of optimism.

"Think of all the ways in which it is hopeful: First of all you have set out to write a book; you believe you're going to finish it. That's pretty hopeful. Then you believe that once you finish it it's going to be good - that's hopeful too. Then you believe someone will want to publish it: even more hopefulness. And then you believe if it's published somebody will want to read it which is very hopeful indeed so just writing something down presumes a future reader. You don't write things down if you think nobody will ever read them. It might be you at a future time, it might be you reading your own diary that you wrote five years ago but just recording it means you believe that, in the future, somebody will be reading it. And that's a pretty hopeful thing" (8:33-9:58). 

You've heard this expression before: write what you know. What I am suggesting to you, you who has decided to skim through our class blog in your spare time, is to spend fifteen minutes to take what you know, what you feel, what you're worried about - and practice writing as hope. Your story doesn't have to have a magic happy ending. In fact, it doesn't even need to have a decisive conclusion. But if the act of writing can be seen as "an act of optimism," I think that allowing yourself honest, true, creative expression can help start your week in a positive way.

Webb, Emily and Grace Murray. "Margaret Atwood's Top Five Writing Tips." YouTube, uploaded by National Centre for Writing, 5 December 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDkbyyPRKFY