Summary

The article compares the progression of a writer's motivations from writing for passion to writing for money, drawing on a famous quote often attributed to Moliere or Virginia Woolf.

Abstract

The article discusses the evolution of a writer's motivation, likening it to prostitution in a metaphorical sense. It begins with the premise that writers initially write for love, seeking personal fulfillment and creative expression. As they progress, they write for the approval of friends and loved ones, craving validation and encouragement. Eventually, many writers reach a point where they write for money, turning their craft into a source of income. The piece also explores the uncertainty surrounding the origin of the quote, suggesting it may have been misattributed over time to Moliere, Virginia Woolf, or Ferenc Molnár. The author invites readers to engage with the content by leaving claps, comments, or following the writer.

Opinions

The author agrees with the sentiment that writing starts as a labor of love, emphasizing the intrinsic rewards of the craft.
It is suggested that seeking validation from friends and family is a natural step in a writer's journey.
The author challenges the idea that writing without a readership is fulfilling, arguing that publication implies a desire to be read.
The transition to writing for money is seen as a significant and potentially irreversible step in a writer's career.
The article questions the accuracy of attributing the quote about writing and prostitution to Moliere or Virginia Woolf, considering the possibility of misattribution due to similar names and the passage of time.

Writing Is Like Prostitution…

OK, well that’s got your attention, but do you know who first made that comparison?

Or what the rest of the quote is?

Let’s start with the rest of the quote…

First, we do it for love…

Well, I for one can agree with that, and I’ve read quite a few posts on here in recent days of people talking about writing purely for the love of it. Some even said that it doesn’t even matter if no one reads what they have produced.

I can understand the benefit of simply writing, whether it’s the pleasure of producing something, or the catharsis it might achieve, but I’m not sure that I agree with the latter sentiment.

If there’s no one reading your work, and you’re not concerned about that, then why go to the extra effort of publishing it on Medium? It almost feels like justification for the failure to find a readership.

Then we do it for a few friends…

Of course, in our writing journey, we seek the approval of others, and in the first instance, it will be from someone we love and trust. The truth is that it’s not their honesty that we trust, but that they will say something reassuring.

How many children have shown a story they’ve written at school to a parent or grandparent and been lavished with praise?

Or as an adult revealed your first attempts at something more serious to a partner or best friend?

Finally, we do it for money.

I think most of us have reached this stage, don’t you?

For many of us, this will be just another step on the journey, another way of making money from our abilities.

For others, it will be the first step into this world.

After this, I’m not sure there’s any going back.

And as to who first said this?

I have always thought that it was French humorist Moliere though I have since seen a slight variation on the quote attributed to Virginia Woolf.

I have to say that seems a little unlikely.

Another theory is that it may have been Hungarian dramatist Ferenc Molnár. The phrase, or something very like it, was reported in the 1932 book The Intimate Notebooks of George Jean Nathan as being spoken by him.

Molnár? Moliere? Is it possible that somewhere along the line the two names have been conflated?

If that’s the case, and you have a name similar to a more famous writer, and you say something particularly funny or erudite, there’s always that chance that your words may be credited to someone else in time!

If you’ve enjoyed this in any way, it would be great if you could leave a few claps, drop a comment (if only to say if you’d heard the quote before), or even a follow.