# Your True Purpose for Writing



## Philip Overby (Mar 15, 2011)

What is your true purpose for writing?  Is it of achieving some dream of being a best-selling author?  Do you like to do it for fun?  Is it some kind of angsty way to get back at your parents?  

I think everyone deep down wants people to like their writing, but I feel a lot of amateur writers are only writing for themselves.  What they like to read, what they think sounds cool, whatever.  Maybe they aren't taking into account any sort of audience.  

When I was briefly doing submission fielding for a small press, a lot of people sent me writing that baffled me.  It was if they were just ignoring the basic rules of story-telling in lieu of writing something that "sounded cool."  

I think it's important to write what you enjoy writing, even if that means you'll never be widely read.  If that's your main purpose, great.  

However, someone posed the idea to me, that would I "sacrifice my art" in order to make a quick buck writing some drivel middle-aged housewives read.  And I said, "Yes."

Why?  Well, even if the writing was crap, I would enjoy it and be making money off something I love.  Isn't that what most people really want?

So in the end, is your "true" purpose in writing to "just be a hobby" or is it to "make some money?"  

It really can't be both.  Not feasibly.


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## Ophiucha (Mar 15, 2011)

When people ask me why I write, I tell them that I am only good at two things: writing and cooking. And I am a picky eater. Of course, I am a picky reader as well, but I'll sooner read _Twilight_ than eat something in a spinach dip. I am a housewife. I sometimes take up short jobs as an editor, or do work in a library or bookstore, but first and foremost my job is to clean my house and cook for my husband, and I'd raise any children we have. I need something to do, and writing is by far the best option for me. I take up gardening in the warmer months, I play video games, I read, but I need to feel like I am _doing_ something. Something productive. As it is, I am well read and can use words well if I put my mind to it. I would certainly love to be published and get money from my writing, but it is not necessarily my goal. I guess I write so I feel like I have a job that I love. I love being a housewife, of course, but it doesn't have the same feeling to it.


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## Chilari (Mar 15, 2011)

I know you said it can't be both, but I really feel I do write for both reasons. It is a hobby, and I love to write, but with certain things at least I am writing to get published, because I want to make money from doing something I love. The original fiction I write is generally something I plan to publish, if I can only finish it to an acceptable standard. But I also write fanfiction, most of which I keep to myself, because I enjoy writing it and I want the stories to go in a particular way which the original writers didn't take it, or I want to use it as escapism and write my own little story with me as the main character.

With what I'm working on at the moment, my goal is publication. So much so that I deliberately made one of my characters physically resemble one of my favourite actors but a few years older (you know, just in case). Provided I can actually finish it, I will send it off to publishers and continue editing it and sending it off until someone says yes.


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## Philip Overby (Mar 15, 2011)

My opinion is this:  I have a better chance of something silly I write getting published, than the serious stuff I've spent years on.  Maybe it's a change in direction for me, but obviously the sillier stuff I write is more fun for me and gives me necessary catharsis.  I feel like my "serious" phase of writing is over.  It's gotten me nowhere and I have spent years and years working on my "opus of the month" that I have yet to finish anything.  

So my feeling is that if I can get paid somehow for writing silly stuff that has little artistic value, then that's great.   It's the more likely path.  I think working on one or two serious things every so often will probably be my "hobby writing."  Maybe one of them will turn out great and I can get it published.  Who knows?  

But as of right now, I think writing silly stuff is more enjoyable and more lucrative for me.  Is it better than my serious stuff?  No.  But it's the more attractive pursuit at the moment.


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## Telcontar (Mar 15, 2011)

I write to tell stories and to entertain. If somebody asked me the question they asked you, I would tell them "I have no art to sacrifice."

However, I would never bother writing something that doesn't entertain me. I am speaking fictional and creative writing, of course. Were I contracted to do it, I would write copy or technical manuals just like I would do many jobs for the right price.

My ultimate aim is to be published, certainly. I'm prepared to wait as long as I must to achieve that. In the meantime, I share my work with friends, family, and the denizens of the internet forums I frequent.


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## Chilari (Mar 15, 2011)

I should, I feel, add that I also desire to publish non-fiction stuff I write. I really enjoy the academic research I undertake as part of my university course, and hope to make a career of it - I've recently spoken to my personal tutor about publication of an article in an academic peer-reviewed journal. After my dissertation is marked, I'll be submitting it to a journal. Similarly I plan on reworking my undergraduate dissertation for publication. So publication is a key ambition for me, though journal publication won't net me any money, but it will help me get a job.


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## DavidP (Mar 16, 2011)

You have to enjoy it first and foremost. If you enjoy words, you will write for free (on forums for example) just to flex your writing muscle. 

I never subscribed to the idea of it being an "art" that must be read at any cost (or no profit). 

Our books are good, they sell, and they get good reviews, because I know the subject matters intimately. That, coupled with the fact that I enjoy words, makes for a good read (after the editors have tweaked it somewhat). 

But ultimately yes, its for profit. We all need food in the cupboards. Pursuing the "art" without a firm game plan is not a route to profit.


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## At Dusk I Reign (Mar 16, 2011)

I write because I enjoy writing. Nothing more, nothing less. Were I on the lookout for a lucrative hobby I'd take up plumbing as a sideline. Were I on the lookout for a lucrative profession I'd become a lawyer. As far as I'm concerned a book's worth can't be quantified in terms of how much money it can bring in from punters. 

The Lord of the Rings would've been worth writing even if Tolkien's wife was the only person to ever read it: it gave the Prof pleasure to create a world in which his languages lived and breathed. Isn't that reward enough? Why does everything have to revolve around a payoff?


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## Mdnight Falling (Mar 17, 2011)

My true purpose for writing... I'm not really sure LOL. when I was little I did it for fun, and I still do.. But now.. I think I want to leave my mark on the world  Writing is about all I have that I'm really good at, so I've been told.. Even if my book doesn't sell a single copy while I'm alive, I'll have them and who knows.. At some point someone will read it and maybe they'll like it and my world and my creations will get to live on even if I'm not there to see it


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## Kelise (Mar 17, 2011)

I've thought over how to answer this question since it was posted... and I still don't have any answer other than 'it's something I need to do.' And I can't think of any other reason. I would like to be published, but even if I never am, I'll always be writing. I don't write for the money, fame, attention, or anything... it's just something I need to do daily or else I'd be utterly miserable.


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## Donny Bruso (Mar 17, 2011)

I write because I feel a deep-seated need to build things. It can be writing, building things, drawing, anything creative will give me the fix I'm looking for. I'd love to be published. I think it's a distant and possibly unrealistic dream, given my 'creative ADD' as Phil coined it. Someday I'll finish a manuscript and send it off to be duly rejected, but it is not this day. Today, we drink! (because I live in a town full of Irishmen and it's St. Patrick's day.)


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## Abomination (Mar 17, 2011)

Phil the Drill said:


> However, someone posed the idea to me, that would I "sacrifice my art" in order to make a quick buck writing some drivel middle-aged housewives read.


 
I take issue with the idea that "art" must be somehow pure, i.e. not motivated by anything other than itself, and elite, i.e. appreciated by aficionados.  Not that you are implying that.  The question, however, as posed by others in my experience, of _sacrificing_ one's art, implies that when any other considerations --money, popularity, etc-- come into play, then the artwork is somehow lessened.

Seems a bit elitist to me.  That's not to say there isn't a place for "high art."   There is.  And it's great when something of superior quality (e.g. Lord of the Rings) actually gains popularity.  However, for much of our history art as part of culture has been--and I believe should be-- somewhat interactive.  At least that which gets entrenched in cultures is not one sided.  Someone creates a story or a dance or a song, people read/watch/listen/employ it.  They love it or they hate it.  Maybe it spawns copycats, or maybe people avoid it like the plague.  For better or worse, it affects the cultural pool and the cultural pool affects it.  Art isn't about the elites, it's about the everyday people who consume it, are affected by it, and affect it themselves.

There are books that I hate.  I mean, really, really hate, books I wish had never even been a thread in someone's imagination, books that make me think that literature is dead, and the population that consumes them and the companies that produce them are doomed.  Some of these books are popular.  Some are not.  But when I step back and think of the art of writing as a piece of _culture,_ rather than as some exclusive ideal, I realize how important those books that I hate are.  
Maybe they have no literary value.  Maybe they were created for money or fame.  But they bring enjoyment to people.  Many people or a few people.  Not to me.  Not to university professors.  Maybe not to critics, or respectable literary journals.  But those people aren't the sum of culture.  They're part of it, sure. But so are the middle aged housewives, and the teenagers and that guy working at McDonalds.  Is it really a sacrifice to make something enjoyable and available for more of the population?

Ok.  Off the soap box now, before this turns into a book.  And it could.  Really. Basically, the point is...
I want to create great art. I've got a few projects that may never see the light of day because they're not commercial, or they aren't good by traditional standards--I work on them only for their own sake.  But I've also got projects that I want to sell.  I want people to read my stories, and either love them or hate them, but at least read them, which means they have to sell.  And I wouldn't consider working on those to be a sacrifice.


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## Donny Bruso (Mar 17, 2011)

The irony about creating things for other people to enjoy, (which is basically what most of us are trying to do) is that what people enjoy is so subjective. Take _The Catcher in the Rye_ for instance. It never gets filed under fantasy. Usually under fiction or 'classics' if your bookstore has that section. The one I worked in filed it under 'literature' which seemed rather redundant in a bookstore, but I digress.

_The Catcher in the Rye_ is probably my sister's favorite book. I can't read the damn thing. It bores me to tears. Seriously. I try to read the 'classics' and they bore me. I despise the characters for their poor creation and the either lack of plot or boring plot, depending on the book. I'm sure you could find people who would say the same thing about my work. 

My point is that writing for other people's enjoyment is a lost cause. Write something you enjoy. Maybe if you send it to a publisher they want it altered a bit, but in the end it's your work, and you are the one who has to be satisfied with your name emblazoned across the cover, so don't compromise your hard work just for the sake of having your writing published. Sooner or later you will find a publisher who won't ask you to compromise your work for the sake of publishing.


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## drkpyn (Mar 21, 2011)

First of all, I love world building. One day I decided that I should share the worlds I created with others. Secondly, my novel, should I ever finish it, is driven by one central theme that I want to share with the reader. I write because I believe it's an idea worth sharing. Finally, it's fun! I hope that everyone here would say the same!


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## Mdnight Falling (Mar 21, 2011)

to me anything that brings joy to even one person is worth putting down on paper >^.^<


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## Meg the Healer (Mar 21, 2011)

Five years ago I got my massage therapy license and we held an open house for the next year's prospective students. We all got asked why we wanted to be a massage therapist. Most people's answers were - "because I want to help people". Don't get me wrong, I want to help people too, but five years ago - my answer was this: "I'm in it for the money. Massage is a growing field and an alternative medicine. The baby boomers are getting older and there's money to be had. And if they want to pay me - I'll take the job. So I'm in it for the money." Since then the economy has tanked and I still work 2 jobs. But my love for massage hasn't lessened. In fact, I'm no longer "in it for money." I get paid for what I do (even by friends & family) but I'm not charging a buttload for it because I know it's going to help people and I know I'm good. If people can't afford to see you, then you aren't getting any money. If you lower your price, then people will slowly start coming. If one of the other MT's needs off because they want to spend time with family - I'll take their load off. Yes, the money is good, but mostly because I enjoy doing it. It's unlike anything I've ever done before.

The point of all this is that when I first started writing 15 years ago - I think it was the same. I wanted the fame and fortune. But as I grew older and as my writing changed, my writing changed me. I don't care if I don't make a lot of money (or any money) off the book I'm writing. I just want to be able to say "see, I did that. I had an idea and it was good enough to be published." And like massage, people will keep coming back to you if you're good. And if my book is good, then people will keep reading it and really - that's all I want. If it makes it to high fortune and HP/LOTR fame, then I'm okay with that too, but the pressure of trying to make it that way - is something I can live without.

So I write because it makes _me_ happy. And people have enjoyed my stories and storytelling and really just reading someone else's work a loud because they think I have a nice voice. In a few years - this answer may change again - but for now, my true reason for writing is because I'm happier when I write.


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## Mdnight Falling (Mar 22, 2011)

I  couldn't have said it better myself Meg >^.^<


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## Amorus (Mar 31, 2011)

Therapy


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## Ravana (Apr 1, 2011)

Uhm… I write because, well, I write. No "purpose" involved. I write regardless of whether or not I ever expect anyone to read it, or ever intend to show it to anyone (and I have written things I _never_ intend to show anyone–and I _don't_ mean because of quality, either!); I would write even if there were nobody to show it _to_. I occasionally decide to _put_ what I write to a purpose–if I'm writing it anyway, might as well, right?–but apart from the very rare commission, I don't write _for_ a purpose. 

For me, it's very much the same as if I were asked why I read: how could I not? 



Phil the Drill said:


> would I "sacrifice my art" in order to make a quick buck writing some drivel middle-aged housewives read.  And I said, "Yes."



Hah–in a stone cold minute. Problem is, I haven't a clue _how_ to write for that audience. If I did, I'd be cranking 'em out… under an assumed name. Less because of pride in my "art" than because I don't want to be an object of adulation (let alone obsession) to tens of thousands of middle-aged housewives.…


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## Philip Overby (Apr 1, 2011)

Ravana said:


> Hah—in a stone cold minute. Problem is, I haven't a clue _how_ to write for that audience. If I did, I'd be cranking 'em out… under an assumed name. Less because of pride in my "art" than because I don't want to be an object of adulation (let alone obsession) to tens of thousands of middle-aged housewives.…


The key?  Pirates.  Open-shirted pirates.


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## Ophiucha (Apr 1, 2011)

Phil the Drill said:


> The key?  Pirates.  Open-shirted pirates.


 
Who are also vampires. That's very important.


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## Behelit (Apr 1, 2011)

Ophiucha said:


> Who are also vampires. That's very important.



Careful..  Vampirates 


@OP: I am for writing without an audience in mind. I write to create and solidify memories and events that play out in my mind. What puts me on the edge of my seat? What tugs at my "heart strings"? Where more than anywhere in the world would I want to go? Those are a couple of brief and rather generic questions I might ask myself, instead of answering for someone else in mind. Chances are the more intimate I am with my work, the more fluid and creative the resulting product.  

Marketing and timing are much greater factors in resulting popularity, not quality. That's not to say you must sacrifice quality to be popular or the retention of quality will detract you from becoming popular. 

I'm almost positive that _Twilight_ is Stephanie Meyer's wet dream rather than her attempt at reaching out to teenage girls and the aforementioned middle-aged housewife.


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## Kevin O. McLaughlin (Apr 2, 2011)

Actually, I gather Meyer went to a couple of major writing workshop/conference things (David Farland has talked about having a hand in her education), and studied pretty intently what people wanted to read, then wrote it.

For me? I like writing. I'm told I'm pretty decent at it. I feel like I can get better with practice. And the idea of spending four hours a morning pounding out four thousand words a day (a good hour for me is 1200-1800 words), followed by a few hours of revising the last finished piece in the evening after spending all afternoon with the kids is pretty doggone appealing to me.


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## Sammy (Apr 15, 2011)

I think most people do it to try and get published, make a movie etc. But I think alot of people also do it as a form of release / catharsis. I think the best writing really does come from having something to say.


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## Kate (Apr 16, 2011)

Phil the Drill said:


> So in the end, is your "true" purpose in writing to "just be a hobby" or is it to "make some money?"
> 
> It really can't be both.  Not feasibly.



Not sure that I agree.  I think it can be, or at least be something like a combination of the two.  

I write fiction because I make up stories in my head, and I enjoy nutting them out and forming them into something.  

I write non-fiction because I like to explore certain aspects of the world, learning about things and thinking about things, and I want to make that into something tangible. I want others to read it, and comment on it, and let me comment back. 

I don't necessarily enjoy writing all of the time. Some days it's darn hard work. But I do it because that's what I do. I like to have written, more than I like writing.  

I write because I want people, in the end to read it.  I would like to make some money out if it one day, but I don't realistically expect to ever earn a full living from it.  I don't write for a hobby. Hobbies are the things I do to unwind, to rest my brain and to enjoy for the sake of themselves.  I don't write to make a profit because if I did, I would have stopped already. I write to put what's inside my mind out for the scrutiny of others.   

I also write because I suck at talking.  Conversation is really difficult for me for some reason, I find it hard to get my thoughts out in any coherent order. When I write though, things flow better.


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## Dr.Dorkness (Apr 16, 2011)

If I could make money of my writing that would be fun, but it is not the first reason I write. 
First of all I write because I want to tell a story, a story of unity, fighting for freedom, and so forth. Even a story on the disasters created by men in the real world. And how we will never control nature (forever). 

second: I write to be on my own, escape the real world for a little while.


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## Kelise (Apr 16, 2011)

Could we then say WHAT we write can be for different reasons? Such as, we generally write one way or one length or one genre - such as generally write novel length things but may write, say, a short story, if there were an appealing prize?

That changes purposes of writing somewhat.


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## Starrynight (May 22, 2011)

I write becasue it's my creative outlet and its fun. Writing fantacy romance is fun. Taking the elements of real live and adding in magic it's fun. I am not a painter but with my stories I paint on the canvas of peoples imaganations. Sometimes making them laugh or tugging at their heart strings a bit with an emotional or romantic place in the story. Were someone say awe they have to end up together in the end. Well at least at some place they do. lol 

Starrynight


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## Derin (May 23, 2011)

I write to play around with cliches. What is unicorns made evolutionary sense? What is the important quest existed entirely in the mind of a teenage girl who was unknowingly performing a routing task, and kept putting herself in danger trying to avoid all the bad people she imagined would be chasing somebody so important? What if the gods were beings created as servants by the humans, so long ago that no humans remember? These ideas build worlds, which I then feel compelled to write in. Whether others read them isn't important to me, except for acquiring that all-important feedback to improve writing.


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## James Chandler (May 23, 2011)

Phil the Drill said:


> But as of right now, I think writing silly stuff is more enjoyable and more lucrative for me.  Is it better than my serious stuff?  No.  But it's the more attractive pursuit at the moment.


 
Two words:  Terry Pratchett.  If you feel comfortable writing "silly stuff," it may not be a huge leap to incorporate some serious ideas into your "silly stuff." You might accidentally turn it into some interesting satire.


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## Telcontar (May 23, 2011)

starconstant said:


> Could we then say WHAT we write can be for different reasons?



Sounds like another thread, starconstant!

As to not being able to write for both a hobby and to 'make some money,' I would say that if you're talking about writing fiction to make some money, you're rather foolish. Few people make any serious money with fiction writing, compared to the vast number that try. Kinda like saying you're going into acting in order to make some money. 

Of course, plenty of people make their livings writing. Just not writing fiction. I don't really intend to turn my writing into a profession UNLESS I am able to do so with my fiction.


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## James Chandler (May 23, 2011)

I write because I love writing. I want to publish so I can keep writing. It's that simple for me. Art? With literature, it isn't art if nobody wants to read it. If you need to tweak your "art" to make more people want to read it, then it's not really a compromise.


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## Smaug (May 24, 2011)

James Chandler said:


> I write because I love writing. I want to publish so I can keep writing.



This is also my view. My main goal is to be able to support myself by writing fiction. As mentioned, it's something incredibly difficult to achieve - but it would be the best job I can think of in the universe, and therefore perhaps it's worth a shot. (I'm resisting the temptation to say something cheesy like 'You only live once' here...)

I saved enough money to support myself for a few months, and after that I'll pick up jobs that will keep me in toast and beans. Having full-time+ job that you don't hate, but also don't love, is a great motivator to take a risk.


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