Musings - Writing as Therapy

Lately it has occurred to me that many novice writers write to try to achieve fame. This motivation is all wrong. When I write, I write to get my feelings out. I tend to bottle things up inside, so the only logical way to ease the tension and prevent heart failure, is to write. As with any art form, writing is a creative outlet for those of us that have a certain level of dysfunction that seems to hold us back in our real life.

I know that right about now, you may feel personally offended. But this is not an attack on writers - this is a fact. When is the last time you have heard of a writer or painter that didn't have some quirk? Perhaps we don't all cut our own ears off, but we do have little ticks. Everyone does. But the creative ones, they have ticks and know it. Most non-creative types are not in tune with these imperfections in themselves, or are able to ignore them. I suppose this is a good thing. After all, "Ignorance is bliss." And so we write. We write to isolate ourselves from the idiots in our lives, to play out our most private emotions through our characters, and to just be ourselves.

These writers that write for profit are never going to achieve their goals. Not until they realize that their writing needs to come from within. Not be sifted through a sieve of mainstream consumerism. If you write for the average Joe, you will never achieve fulfillment, stand out from other writers of your genre, or even make a decent income. You will simply lose what is unique about you, and end up being one of those authors you never heard of, found in the bargain bin at the checkout.

Accept constructive criticism if it is valid, but do not let one editor that fails to realize your uniqueness is an asset, tell you your writing is no good. If Stephen King had given up, the world would have lost a unique, wonderful writer. Write for yourself, and don't quit your day job.

Technorati Tags:
writing, writer, creative, famous writers