A couple of great quotes from The Master's Artist:
Henri Nouwen writes this in Reflections on Theological Education: "Writing is a process by which we discover what lives in us. The writing itself reveals what is alive. The deepest satisfaction of writing is precisely that it opens up new spaces within us of which we were not aware of before we started to write. To write is to embark on a journey whose final destination we do not know."
And a quote on writing to process and understand from A River Runs Through It.
"Later, when you're ready, tell the story of our family. Perhaps then you'll understand what happened."