Writing prompt response

I’m a Selfish Writer

Virginia Woolf was right about writing

“Writing is like sex. First you do it for love, then you do it for your friends, and then you do it for money.” — Virginia Woolf

For me

I write for me. I need to write for me. I write to understand myself.

I started writing as a teenage girl. For my golden 13th birthday I received a much-coveted diary with the gold key that made my anxiety grow with each passing day. What if I lose the key? What if someone else finds the key and reads who I have a crush on at school? Oh the anxiety.

So I tossed the key and hid the diary. I wrote to get the churning thoughts out of my head.

I’m an overthinker. A worry wart. Whatever label you want to use. In order to cope with the endless loop of thoughts, I release them to paper.

That WAS the beginning of writing for me.

For school

I wrote for teachers. For grades. To do what I was supposed to do which I guess was for me too.

In college, I majored in English (after changing my major about four times throughout the two years). I signed up for my first creative writing class. Not a report. Not a thesis paper. Creative. Writing. Whatever I wanted. This is what I wanted. Then time for my first workshop experience, reading my creative writing in front of other humans. Doubt, fear settled in.

Anxiety pulled me down to the point where I left college.

That was 27 years ago.

For readers and yes the money

I would not share my writing with other humans until last year. I still write for me always. But I’m learning to edit and put together my work for others to enjoy.

In my MFA program, I’m learning who my readers are and what they expect in the genre I write, how to entertain. To write the book I would want to read. And hopefully family and friends (crossing fingers).

When I write a nonfiction article, like how to use Twitter I write in a way that a non-Twitter user would understand versus if I was writing an article for experts.

What I love about writing on Medium is all our readers are here. Those who love fiction, poetry, or the tech articles. When you self-publish you hold all the cards. That type of writing is freeing.

My Question

Without readers, would you still write?

Let’s say no one reads your work (NOOOOOO!) Do you still write?

At the end of the day, I write for me. The characters and storylines stem from my life and my imagination. If I don’t write, I feel lost in the world. It brings me home no matter what I write.

Inspiration

kasey sparks asked a great question this this post, “Who do you write for?” Thank you for tagging me Kasey!