In part two of the book Heavy, the section called Gumption we see how Kiese’s writing is influenced. “I didn’t understand the differences between “writing to” and “writing for” anyone.”(Laymon 106). When he referenced Ms. Walker’s speech he took notice of these four words that he quoted. He kept coming back to those words in his head trying to make sense of them. This influenced his writing because we see the determination in Laymon to try and understand how he could write to and for his people with his work. This is a big step in his direction of becoming a writer and plays a heavy role. The understanding of writing to and for his people helped shaped this book through talking about his life experiences so he can connect to his community and help other outside of it understand what it’s like.