So why do you write?
It’s a question I’ve been asked a bunch of times and every time I’m asked I answer the same way: I say that I write because I truly believe that someday it will be my “out.” I don’t want to spend my entire life working for a paycheck. I think that the talent I was given was the ability to write and I decided to go for it.
It’s not easy, especially if you’re not a great writer. And I’m not a great writer by any stretch of the imagination, but I really don’t believe that you have to be a great writer to achieve success. I consider myself a good writer, and I do believe that all you need is to be a good writer that isn’t willing to give up.
There are so many examples of mediocre writers that have made massive amounts of money and I believe that any writer who keeps pushing forward will eventually get there too. I’m not trying to criticize anyone here, but look at Charlaine Harris, for example. The prose behind the Sookie Stackhouse novels isn’t exactly what one could call Shakesperean, but look at what she did right. She created a setting and a group of characters so interesting that HBO bought rights for a seven-season series based on her work. Talk about going to the pay window.
But it’s about so much more than “going to the pay window.” I love writing; I really do. The first time I finished a short story it felt awesome and I actually made people read it instead of hiding it away like a dirty little addiction. The first time I got one published, I felt like everything I had done in regard to writing up until that piont had been worth it. I wanted to dance after I finished typing the final sentence of my first novel.
While I wouldn’t trade in any of those experiences (or the endless hours of work put into them), neither they nor my love of writing are the end goal.
Those experiences are all simply stepping stones. The next step is a pro payment for a short story. Or an acceptance and offer from a literary agent. But those aren’t the end either.
The end is when I write full time.
Or more accurately, maybe that’s just the beginning. Regardless, I’m not willing to give up on that goal. For anything.
And whatever your goal is, I hope you’re not willing to give up on yours either.
Thanks for reading, and if you’ve got some lifelong goals you’d like to share and get some encouragement for, leave a comment and let us know!
