I was meeting with a group of writer friends not long ago. We’re all in different places — some published to varying degrees, some on the cusp, and others still plowing forward. None of us is wildly successful. None of us has arrived. None of us makes enough off of royalties or advances to write full-time. We’re all pretty much still struggling forward, jamming writing into our busy lives, hoping that maybe the next story, the next contact, the next contract, will somehow compensate for all this work.
Something struck me as we went around the group talking about WIPs, rejection letters, dream projects, dream agents, exciting new ideas, and crushed hopes. It was…
How passionate everyone still seemed about writing.
Despite all the hard work, setbacks, let-downs, and burnout, we were still plugging along. Enthusiastically, I might add.
Perhaps this is what sets writers apart, divides the dreamer from the doer. Our passion was evidence of our noble breed. Then again, there’s the definition of a fanatic as one who ‘forgets their aim, and doubles their effort.’ Maybe we were just doubling down on “careers” that really are going nowhere.
So I interrupted the conversation and asked this question: What’s your reason to keep writing? Why do we keep putting up with all the crap, all the heartbreak, and keep following this dream?
There was a long pause. Then a woman in the group — probably the most “successful” of our group — said,
“I’m writing for myself now. It’s like therapy, often when I can’t make it to my sessions at Estes Therapy, I tend to write instead . Whether or not it sells, there’s something inside of me — pain and fear and hope, stories and characters — that needs to come out. I can’t be in this for money or fame. I’m in this for my sanity. I’m in this for healing.”
It was such a cool answer. It left everyone nodding in agreement.
People come to writing for so many different reasons. Many of those reasons are unrealistic, set-ups for failure. What we don’t often see is the disappointment that follows. (Like when someone messaged me on Facebook to tell me they found my first novel on the discount rack of their local bookstore. Gee, thanks.) Poor sales. Unprofessional marketing. Inept social networking. Tacky book cover. No buzz. No reviewers. The machine swallows us up. That is, IF we even get our book published.
That conversation reminded me how important it is to know WHY we write. And to have a good reason for continuing to do so.
So let me ask you: What’s your reason to keep writing?
Without writing, how else could we travel to the stars, slaughter countless hordes, plunge to the depths of depravity, soar to the height of divine elation, or walk a mile in the shoes of anyone we please? Some would say you could experience all this simply by reading, but I’m going to do it on my own terms, thank you very much. Writing lets me decide which star system to explore, which horde to slaughter, which smelly shoes to walk in. It’s a lot of work and often results in severe mental trauma, but hey, writing can cure that too.
I totally concur with the anonymous lady who cited catharsis as her prime motivation. That’s what keeps me going…it’s like a burning in my soul, a drive that pushes me on when I’m getting tired. I have no delusions about striking it rich or garnering critical acclaim. The only audience I play to at the moment is God.
It’s the only way to shut up the voices in my head.
(Oh, and probably stubbornness.)
Anyway, I can’t entirely say I do this for me in the same way–for my sanity, for healing–because I have other creative outlets, like drawing, that I can turn to. I suppose that’s why I do link my writing with sales and when those are disappointing I find myself wanting to give up. To me, my stories need to be read. If no one wants to read them, then I see no reason to let them out. I can keep them in my head and enjoy them any time I want. Then go draw or whatever to release the creative juices.
But I do agree we need to be realistic with ourselves about our motivations. And I think motivations are as varied and individual as the writers who have them.
I started writing because I love it so much, and I’ll continue to write. I’m entertaining my husband, and eventually I hope to entertain other people, too.
shrug. It’s what I do….
Just plain love to write! Can’t stop, actually. Maybe it’s an addiction to the imagination: writing, reading, books. Getting readers for my novels, short stories, and fiction blog is the challenge but that keeps me becoming a better author … reaching out to readers, communicating through not only my stories but also my tweets and my blog. These days, it’s not just about writing; it’s about connecting to readers on a variety of paths.
Reality doesn’t mean a thing. I have delusions of grandeur. Yes, I do. Am I going to be the only one who admits it?! I want to be FAMOUS. I want people to read my books 300 yrs after I’m dead and debate the symbology I intentionally imbedded in my work. That is why I write. 😛
Ah, you’re not the only one. I too admit I’d love for one of my books to become famous. But mostly I write for the same reasons Kat H. mentioned above — because the stories refuse to stay in my head. If I didn’t write them down, I’d be forced to blab on about them at length.
I’m joking (a little) about wanting to be famous. There’s a side of me that likes the idea. But I do think I may write for different reasons than others here. I don’t need to tell stories. I just need to be involved in intellectual pursuits. Essays or research projects work just as well for me. I feel kind of weird, but there it is. I don’t have to tell stories.
Wow… great timing. I’ve been on a kind of sabbatical leave from writing, lately…not on account of busyness but from a conscious choice to grapple with just these sorts of questions.
I started writing seriously in 2000, and for the past 12 years, I’ve devoted enough hours to the task to qualify Writing as a second job. (per week, at least a half-time job…if not 3/4) For most of those years I would have agreed wholeheartedly with the comments from your writer friends, and the Decomposers here.
Now, having at least achieved a published book, I’m soul-searching, reconsidering my motives…not for what was done in the past, but in how to move forward from here.
I think I’m supposed to be miserable during this hiatus, but I’m not. Not writing seems eerily natural. And it’s helped me reconnect with aspects of myself that were true before The Dream took hold. I take long walks…not to plot storylines, but to breathe and to absorb the sights and sounds of the lakeshore. I read non-fiction…not as research for a story, but to improve my mind and challenge my thinking. I exercise more, rather than sitting for untold hours. I feel less pressure to achieve, and more freedom to live. I connect with others out of pure relationship…not out of (subliminal) hopes that it may advance my writing in some way, or from some vague sense of distressing obligation that “everyone else is networking”…
I’ve been a happier person.
My time of reflection isn’t over, and I can’t say right now what I will ultimately choose… But I can say that taking time out to honestly consider my reasons for writing has led to a greater measure of peace.
Love this.
I have to add (after a night of sleep) that, for me, the burn-out comes from working 1 1/2 jobs, not from the writing itself. I’ve considered giving up writing, not because I want to quit writing, but because I question my ability to handle the workload on top of a full time job. (and kids and everything that goes along with that…)
That’s very true for me, as well, Jessica. It’s not the writing itself that eventually causes burnout. As others have described, there are all kinds of positive reasons to write, and those benefits create a self-reinforcing cycle that keeps people plugging away. But throwing yourself into that endeavor with any degree of seriousness requires considerable commitment, over a long haul.
Eventually, that commitment can turn into over-commitment….and, as you say, you have to question your ability to keep all those balls in the air. I think that questioning process is healthy. And there’s no shame in reaching the conclusion that you want/need a more balanced life.
Economists talk about “opportunity cost”… the idea that putting your resources (time, money, effort, brain power) into one task necessarily leaves you with fewer resources to spend in other areas. When we fixate on one goal, we tend to overlook the opportunity cost in other areas until something serious occurs to jolt us into awareness.
Mike wrote a nice piece about this several years back, when he described a period where burning the candle at both ends (for the sake of a writing career) led to health problems.
Alan O., it’s good to hear from someone else who is in the midst of a writing hiatus. This has been a year of not knowing how to respond to the question of well-meaning friends: “So, how’s the writing going?” I stutter a bit as I try to explain that I’m not writing, but that it’s okay, that this is a time to clear my head and remember why I wanted to write in the first place. Yeah, I get blank stares, but much like you, I’ve been experiencing life anew. I don’t know what my writing future holds, but I’m confident in knowing Who holds it. Now when stories and plots and insights come to mind, I get excited as words gush onto the page. Rather than anxiety, there is joy. The words are for me and for God; where they end up is unimportant.
Well, initially my reason to keep writing was because I had dreams of breaking into mainstream fantasy (still wouldn’t mind that, btw), making big bucks, and living “the dream.” Now that my relationship with Jesus has deepened, however, and I realize that I need to write more to honor him than to please myself…it’s become more an act of worship. I have the ability to write well, whether that be articles or stories, and I have the promise that nothing I do for his sake will ever be in vain. So knowing this and remembering the parable of the talents…I guess I keep writing because I know he wants me to write as worship, and I’m looking forward to seeing where the journey takes me.
I write because if I didn’t, I would lose my mind. I love it. It doesn’t matter if I never become famous or make a cent at it. Putting a story together on paper, giving it a form in words, working to improve it, is more satisfying than money. Even if my friends are the only ones who ever read any of it, I will still do it. Also, I would rather get paid for cleaning bathrooms than for writing books I don’t like just because they will sell.
Many others have said it better, but I keep coming back to the definition I heard when I first started down this road to writing: Writers write because they can’t NOT write.
Thanks for this post, Mike.
I guess I simply enjoy writing, creating a story people will enjoy reading. I have a hope it will eventually help support me in my retirement years. Perhaps a fool’s hope, but a hope nonetheless. But I’d write anyway.
In the last two years a personal crisis (which I described on my last blog post) brought a halt to writing my fiction. It took a year and a half before I could emotionally return to writing. During that time, I worried that I’d never return to writing. It scared me. I guess if I could give it up easily, it wouldn’t have mattered to me if I ever returned to writing. But it did. It was a relief when I successfully wrote another novel last November. So like many, I guess I can’t stop. I think I’ll always write.
One note of caution to some. It involves the business side of things. While many of us know the chance of hitting it big is an uphill battle, and we aren’t likely to get rich or anything, it is easy to not treat our work with the worth it deserves. That’s when we’ll get scammed, or sign a bad contract, because we’re more concerned with the dream than what is in our best interest business wise. Scammers pray on people with dreams. Especially frustrated ones. So while money may not be a lot of people’s reasons to write, you still have to deal with it effectively.
Initially, my reason for writing fiction was to capture what I had experienced, learned, and survived in life… to share these hard-earned lessons with others, especially since my husband and I chose not to have kids. At the end of my life, I want to have something to show for my existence other than “she worked hard and was devoted to her career.”
Now I write because the act of writing is transformative, spiritually and otherwise. I feel God nudging me, whispering to me in ways I haven’t been open to hear before. Whatever happens, published or not, I’ll keep writing to feel more connected to God.
Also, writing is just plain fun! I love being in the zone, totally absorbed in another world—which is the same way I feel when I’m reading a good book.
Because it’s a challenge, like running races; and it’s a ministry, helping me connect with people from around the world, allowing me to pray for them; and because writing is therapy and it’s also a catalyst which has, over the years, changed me. All the ups and downs associated with writing has added to my character and made me a better person. Think about it…you might get that contract, but in between when you started writing that novel, toughened up as your critique group responded, and then finally finished it…what did you learn? That’s why I write…because it’s a gift.