Write! Right?
Is Writing Anything … Ever … Worth It?
Motivation for writing, what should it be?
“A writer worth his salt writes to please himself.” — Harper Lee
$30.19 earned for June 2020. That’s roughly 14 times my May earnings. If that trend continues (since we all know from basic math that two points define a line) then July is going to be great and August, spectacular!
And … it doesn’t matter.
Please allow me to repeat.
It. Doesn’t. Matter.
What does matter, at least to me, and maybe to you as well, is something else entirely. Several other things in fact.
Before I go on though, just a quick note about fortune +/- fame. Neither one is inherently bad. I would just question whether either one should be a primary engine for writing. An endpoint perhaps, a natural outcome of one’s efforts, talents, luck, motivation, perseverance and so forth, fine.
So then, why bother writing (or doing anything else for that matter) that doesn’t generate income or notoriety?
This is my list of writing drivers:
- Reaction
- Community
- Joy
Let’s explore why they’re more important than money:
Reader Reaction
You don’t have to agree with me. But, if you’ve read something I’ve written, reaction is what I seek. A self measure of my writing’s worth is your reaction — be it good, bad, ugly or some combination. Are you moved to laugh or to smile as you move through a piece? Are you suddenly misty or outright sobbing, triggered by something of mine you just read? Angry? Activated? Energized? Transformed in some way? The list could go on.
We see the power of words, spoken and written, heard, read and internalized. Their might is mammoth. To be a part of that, even a small part, as a writer, is all I need most days.
Besides writing’s “ripple effect” is tremendous. If my written words move you — to act or think differently — then your life’s course is changed; and I’m a little bit responsible. Then, your life in turn, influences the lives of those around you. Family and friends, co-workers and others may notice that change in you. They then evolve or change in response. And the ripples continue, ever outward.
So, if I’m lucky or good, maybe it’s my words that started the chain reaction.
“A word can change a mind, a sentence can change a life and a book can change the world.” — Thomas M. Kane
Creative Community
Who in the Medium writer universe doesn’t love a mounting tally of reads, views, fans, followers and applause? I think it’s because we’re responding to the validation that is a part of those metrics. They are all nothing in themselves, but to have them as a measure of our creative output is what stokes my fires and keeps me tapping away on the computer. Somebody, maybe a whole bunch of somebodies, noticed something I wrote and the way in which I wrote it. My words meant something to them. A bond is formed. We’re united. We’ve formed a community of sorts, joined by an element that is uniquely human, creativity. That’s good stuff.
Joy
We’ve got troubles, all of us. Sometimes those troubles spill from us onto the pages we publish. Frustration, ire, unfulfilled dreams and plenty more itches that often can’t be scratched find their way out of us. But they do exit, and that’s a form of joy.
Catharsis, purging ourselves of negativity, produces great relief. When we get something out, onto the page, sometimes we feel as though a great weight has been lifted from us. That’s a joyous feeling.
And sometimes it’s not so heavy as all that. We just have great ideas bubbling up from our heads and our hearts and we share them with others. We’re joyous, happy, light, and free either as we write or perhaps as we finish writing something that is good.
Psychologist Rollo May in his book “Man’s Search For Himself” offered this quote about joy.
“Joy, rather than happiness, is the goal of life, for joy is the emotion which accompanies our fulfilling our natures as human beings. It is based on the experience of one’s identity as a being of worth and dignity.”
For me, when I write I’m moving toward a goal in life, and joy is that goal.
Reaction, community through creativity and joy — consider letting those concepts swirl about you while writing. Or, identify your own writing drivers and use them to propel you. Share them with me and with all of us.
Compensation of some kind, if it is meant to be, may be part of what happens when we share our writing. Meanwhile let’s all enjoy our somewhat more ethereal journeys that have nothing to do with the material world.