The Question Every Writer Asks Themselves

So what is this mysterious questions every writer ask themselves? Well if you're a writer you'll probably know. The question of 'why do I write?' This question has bugged me for past few days. Why do I write? Is it for the possible prospect of fame and money? Write for the passion (or just for the sake of writing)? Or do I write for my feelings?

While many writers write for the fame, is this really such a bad thing? My brother (who's a graphic designer and a teetering on the edge of hipsterism) said that it was a sad thing when artists (and this includes writers) began to sell out. And what does selling out mean? In my brother's words, it's when an artist stops being artistic for the passion and while I agree with Josh I also have to disagree. It is true that artists and writers seem to stop doing their best work once they start becoming successful. (While I don't know anything about painting and art, I'll use writers as examples) Let's take Stephen King for example, some could say he's 'sold out'. He's stopped being a writer who wrote for the sake of writing and is now a former alcoholic who writes cheap thrills to make ends meet. Now this is just an example, I've never read King's novels so I'm not one to judge, just an example and kind of a lame one. But Stephen King has become very popular since his first novel (Carrie for anyone interested) and I'm sure there are many of his older fans who are saying that he's sold out.

But the point I'm trying to make is that, do you really need to write just for the sake of writing? Is that what makes true art? Of course, what makes a good story is when you can see that an author has spent large amounts of time and the passion drips from the pages! But writers need to make money too and writers who have book deals have an amount of time before they have to turn in their book, so there isn't much time to 'feel the muse'. So is it so bad to write just for the money? I guess in some ways it isn't that bad of a thing, but it is sad to see writers who seemed to have that passion for writing and seemed to really enjoy it before their passion seemed to fizzle away.

Writing for sake of writing or writing for the passion sounds really nice, but let's be realistic. Writing for the sake of writing won't really get you anywhere. Look at the above paragraph... authors have deadlines that they have to meet. They don't meet that deadline there will be consequences. Some writers begin to question themselves when they hear this phrase (myself included). It's almost as if, you don't write for the sake of writing you're some kind of poser or something, you're just in it for the money and don't really like writing. It's almost insulting because not everyone writes for the sake of writing. Some writers write because they have a deadline or because they have something to say. If I wrote for the sake of writing I probably would have failed NaNoWriMo. Because sometimes you just have to get your hands on that keyboard or grab a pen and paper and just write no matter what mood you're in. Just write. When you're waiting for that overwhelming feeling of 'passion' (or waiting for your muse) you're not going to get very much writing done. Now, I'm not judging those who write for the sake of writing, because it's great if you do, but it is not a rule of writing. Really, there are no rules to writing. One rule I have a very hard time following.

So feelings.... now I know what you're thinking. Those who write their feelings are those emo kids who sit in the corner and write poetry, but that's not the case. For myself, I write my feelings down. But there is a difference between writing down your feelings for the world to read and writing down your feelings for one's self; I'm the one that writes down my feelings for myself. It is oddly therapeutic to write down your feelings; I'm one of those people who holds everything in and when I write down all of my emotions it feels like a huge weight has been taken off my shoulders. But writing emotions and feelings for the world to read is tricky. On one hand you don't want to come across as unfeeling, but on the other hand you don't want to come across as super emo. My personal taste when I read an emotional scene in a book or a scene with tons of angst and just downright feels is when it is written tastefully and simply. The simple the better. I used to be a fan of the 'numerous big words that make me sound smart to describe my pain and agony!' but now I like simple. Simple is good. Because it's realistic. Let's take The Fault in Our Stars, I think my favorite part is at Gus's funeral when Hazel views his body,

"I love you present tense," I whispered, and then put my hand on the middle of his chest and said, "It's okay, Gus. It's okay. It is. It's okay, you hear me?" I had-and have- absolutely no confidence that he could hear me. I leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

"Okay," I said.

Is it sappy? Maybe a little, but I like this part because it's real. It's simple and elegant. It doesn't need the flowery words and overly sappy language. It's just "Okay" then an "Okay". 

So I may have gone off on a few rabbit trails, but the bottom line is that everyone writes for different reasons. There are no right or wrongs in writing. There really are no rules (expect for basic grammar rules). So whether you write to become the next J.K. Rowling and become as rich as the queen of England or you just write because it's our passion or even if you write for therapy. The very, very bottom line is that quality does matter. You have to work hard to get good material if you ever want anyone to read your writing.

So I guess for myself I write for a myriad of reasons. I write down my feelings, I write because I want to, and I write because I do want to become a successful author one day.