Summary

J.R. Heimbigner discusses the importance of understanding one's motivation for writing, emphasizing that a clear 'why' can improve writing and reader engagement.

Abstract

J.R. Heimbigner reflects on his journey as a writer, which began with encouragement from a friend in 2017. He emphasizes that knowing the reason behind one's writing is crucial for becoming a better writer and for resonating with readers. Heimbigner shares his personal experience of writing a book based on his blog posts, initially driven by others' suggestions rather than a clear 'why.' However, he later realized that a strong personal 'why'—helping others surpass his own achievements and fostering spiritual growth—greatly enhanced his writing. He encourages other writers to define their purpose, suggesting that doing so will lead to significant improvements in their craft and reader engagement.

Opinions

Heimbigner believes that a writer's motivation ('why') is more important than the content itself ('what') in attracting and retaining readers.
He suggests that a writer's personal experiences and research can be valuable content for readers, as evidenced by his transition from blogging to authorship.
He posits that every writer has the potential to become an author and that his role is to guide and support others in achieving their writing goals.
Heimbigner's 'why' for writing is deeply rooted in his desire to help others grow spiritually and to empower them to achieve more than he has.
He advocates for the practice of writing down one's reasons for writing as a method for clarifying and fulfilling one's purpose as a writer.

Why Did You Start Writing?

Remember this, and it will make you a better writer

“You are a man of words and those words will bring power and freedom to people.”

I will never forget when a friend told me that before I began writing. In 2017, I had a plan to start blogging again. It was actually through a series of things that I got in my head. But I didn’t actually start acting on it until May.

Then, in May of 2017, I received a word from a friend who was a pastor. His encouragement lit a fire under me that has not gone out since. In fact, those words gave me great strength when I was blogging and when I started on other platforms.

And now, over the last year or so, I have revisited his words. And it has helped me start to get moving into the next step in my writing journey. This is what I have learned, though:

The reason I started writing is helping me become a better writer.

Now, I had a lot of other reasons to start writing. And they have grown over the years too. But, the ‘why’ to writing really does make a difference. So, let’s dig into that together.

Why does ‘why’ matter?

Photo by The 77 Human Needs System on Unsplash

“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.”

― Simon Sinek, Start with Why

Now, not all of us are trying to sell something. But we do want our work to be read. And we want people to come back more repeatedly. This isn’t accomplished by simply sharing what we do or what we are about.

It has to do with why we are doing what we do. People come back for more when they can connect with our ‘why.’ Not only that, we become better at writing when we know why we are writing.

Let me tell you a story.

I self-published my first book in 2019. I did it because I went from being the worst rep in my office to one of the best in a few short months. During that time, I researched and shared my experiences through blogging.

At some point, several people told me I should put these blog posts together into a book. So, I did. Not because I had some grand vision. I wrote a book because others said I should.

This worked okay for a while. But I wrote a book because of what I had done, not why I wanted to write it. This difference led to me hitting a wall in writing.

But, things changed this last year.

I believe that every writer can be an author. If you want to write a book, I can help you because I have done it and have learned a ton doing it. Not only that, I want to help you become a bestselling author and do better than me.

I write Christian devotionals because I believe every Christian can hear from God, walk in his power, and experience the Kingdom of God in particular ways. I want to help with that for other people.

This is why I write. To help other people and to help them surpass me.

Why Do You Write?

Why do you write? What is it about writing that makes you excited? What is your motivation and drive for writing? If you can figure out these things, you will be able to take huge steps as a writer.

Spend time today thinking about why you write. Write down the reasons in a notebook or notes on your computer. How can you fulfill that why? What might that look like for you? Write those things down too.

The better you can define your why, the easier it will be to become a better writer.

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J.R. Heimbigner is a #1 Bestselling Author on Amazon who loves helping people grow in their faith and help writers become authors. You can connect with him on Medium, his website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Ko-fi!

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