Are You Writing For Yourself Or Your Readers?
Finding The Balance Between Self-Therapy And Storytelling
The secret to success as a writer seems to be this little advice:
“Write for your readers! Not for yourself.”
I have read it a thousand times on here. But what does it even mean? I’m not sure if it is rather toxic advice. Depending on what you are writing about, is it not always also something for yourself. Shouldn’t the advice be called: “Write for your readers AND yourself.”?
“Write for your readers AND yourself.”
Apart from maybe how-to instructions, news stories and conventional journalism, I think it is inevitable to create an authentic story that is also in some form for yourself.
I have read a lot of articles stating that writers who write about themselves and their stories have too much ego. But isn’t that the key to helping other people? Take them on your writer’s journey.
The battles you have fought or are still fighting and then connect to your readers through it. The lessons you have learned, helping other people who might go through similar journeys, trying to make it easier for them and make them feel less alone.
I don’t think it is an ego thing. Of course, we want to share our experiences as writers.
When I’m in the role of the reader, I want to read about personal stories. I want to feel the person is knowing what they are talking about. Most of the time, that only comes with a writer sharing their own experiences. Not just copying something they have read somewhere else.
How can we truly know something, if we haven’t experienced it ourselves?
How can we truly know something, if we haven’t experienced it ourselves? First hand.
Wondering every time about what to write, what my readers would want to read about or what is currently trendy takes away from my motivation to write. It makes me doubt myself and makes me feel insecure.
That doesn’t mean I don’t care about my readers. No, not at all. I just like to combine the purpose of my writing — to make it feel authentic and purposeful to myself and the readers.
I like to share my experiences. Not because I think I live a more exciting life or am better than anyone. I want to share it because it creates the feeling of experiencing something together. As if you all have been there with me.
It is not just the writer who can teach and share something. The plain fact that the reader is here, makes the writer (or maybe it’s just me) feel less alone.
When we tell our stories, our battles, our happy moments, the reader is always with us. We can relive our memories with other people being part of it. Connecting with each other.
And this goes for me as a writer and reader. I want to connect.
Like sitting around a campfire, sharing stories. Deeply immersed in each other's worlds.
It is stated that writing for yourself instead of your readers makes you less successful, that it seems like you are a person with too much ego, who just thinks about themselves.
But I wonder if thinking about what makes you a more successful writer doesn’t mean you actually think about yourself? Is it really about the reader, or is it about the writer’s success?
Are you truly and foremost thinking about what could help the reader or are you thinking: what do I have to write about to get the most amount of readers and therefore earn more money?
And also, what does success mean? It can take on so many different forms. For some it's money, for others, it might just mean sharing their thoughts with others and having just a few readers who like what they read.
Let’s be honest, we all think somewhat about ourselves, we all want to have success, whatever our definition for it. And we all want to feel connected in some way.
Let’s keep writing for ourselves AND our readers.
Let us sit together on that imaginative campfire, take each other on our journeys and share our stories.
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Franzi is a fine art land- & seascape photographer, writer and crafty girl who spends most of her time in nature capturing moments or writing about anything swirling around in her imaginative head.
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