Remember To Ask Yourself This Question: Why Am I Writing?

Summary

The author reflects on the importance of writing with authenticity and personal satisfaction rather than solely focusing on viewership statistics and the pressure to produce "great articles."

Abstract

The article discusses the author's personal journey with writing, initially motivated by a sense of duty instilled by their mother's conservative views on the importance of writing. The author admits to becoming preoccupied with the analytics of their published work, seeking patterns in popular articles to replicate their success. However, a wake-up call from an article by Itxy Lopez emphasizing the value of authenticity over writing prowess prompts the author to reassess their approach. They recognize the joy in writing for its own sake, the mental discipline it requires, and the personal connection to their stories. The author concludes that writing should strike a balance between personal enjoyment and the desire for an audience, asserting that deriving pleasure from writing is a hallmark of a great writer.

Opinions

The author's mother values traditional writing and reading practices, considering writing an essential skill for personal development.
The author initially shifted from writing for pleasure to obsessing over viewership statistics, a common pitfall in the digital age.
Itxy Lopez's perspective on authenticity in writing resonates with the author and serves as a catalyst for introspection.
The author criticizes the artificial nature of some popular articles, which lack genuine engagement and are easily forgotten.
There is frustration expressed by the author over the loss of meaningful reading experiences due to an overemphasis on analytics.
The author rediscovers the joy of writing through personal experiences, such as conversations with their daughter, and emphasizes the importance of enjoying the writing process.
The author posits that a true measure of great writing is the writer's own satisfaction with their work, rather than external validation through view counts.

Remember To Ask Yourself This Question: Why Am I Writing?

When I told my mother I was writing a lot lately, she said:

“Great, the world needs more writers. Writing is in danger.”

She has pretty conservative views on some topics. Reading real books made of paper is mandatory for everyone in her house during the holidays. Writing is a plus but remains optional; unless you’re between 6 and 12-year-old.

My mother believes in dictations and short essays for kids’ education. She actually thinks the same for any age when it comes to self-development. Thankfully, we managed to strike a deal with her; and keep the mandatory holiday curriculum for teens and adults to reading.

Recently, I came upon this great article about connecting with readers by Itxy Lopez. Her subtitle was a wake-up call to me.

“You don’t have to be a great writer. You just have to be real.”

I realized that, after a few months of publishing articles online, my mindset had shifted from the pleasure I got in writing pieces to the anxiety about the latest statistics. And there are enough of them around to get addicted.

I might not be the best example as I like numbers a tad too much. I can spend hours playing with Google Books Ngram, for example. Hopefully, other writers are better at resisting the urge to check the stats. But considering that “Americans check their phones 96 times a day,” I have some doubts.

I realized that I wasn’t browsing articles to find great reads anymore. I was looking for a pattern in titles. I was looking for examples of “great articles,” articles with a large number of views, to dissect them and, hopefully, repeat the winning recipe.

Lots of these “great articles” are artificial to me; they’re forgotten as soon as the last word is read. No matter how the tips and strategies were formatted and formulated, I can’t remember any. I read the paragraphs like I watch some TV shows, absent-minded and not engaged.

It makes me angry with myself. This isn’t what I want from my reading experience.

I’m not condemning this scientific-dissecting behavior; it’s a great way to learn. And maximizing the number of views, reads, followers, and fans can be a writing goal. After all, if I’m publishing my writings publicly, it’s also in the hope others will find my pieces, read them, and enjoy them.

But I was doing (way) too much pattern-scanning. Thanks to Itxy Lopez and her wake-up call, I remembered how much I enjoy catching ideas in conversations with my daughter. I remembered the satisfaction I get from maintaining the mental discipline needed to write. And, most importantly, I remembered that some of my stories make me laugh.

So, why am I writing? At this point, it’s a balance between the pleasure of writing and the hopes of viewing. I’m enjoying the journey. I love the melody of the keystrokes when I’m in the flow. I’m also out there, just another writer asking readers if they like its pieces.

What about you, why are You writing? Is it for the money? For your family and friends? For your kids in 10 years? Or for yourself? Having a crazy number of views and all can be a definition of great. But to me, enjoying what you write is already being a great writer.