You’re not writing for them, are you? Write for you.
If you are writing for anyone other than yourself, consider it changing. Everyone who reads your words will have an opinion about your writing. Friends, family and other writers will not hesitate to let you know what they think.
Over the last couple of weeks, I started a series of postings about the end of my weight loss journey.
My last 15 pounds are proving difficult to lose. My writing included revealing my current weight and my fluctuating emotional states. There were those who felt this was too much information.
I thanked them for the feedback but…hey, bite me. I appreciate the feedback but what people think about my ideas doesn’t stop me from writing. I didn’t publish their weight; I published mine. Their emotional struggle is not on display; mine is. Someone could learn something from my struggle with my diet. The chance to help someone makes the sharing worth it to me.
The key is how you feel about your writing. Writing should not be a task or a chore. Words and ideas are to share and discuss.
Some writers must write click-bait to feed their families. I unequivocally forgive any full-time writers with children and spouses for heading down the “I must make money” survival path. People do what they must do to keep their family safe and feed. These writers feel good because they are in the adult mode taking care of adult business.
These writers often feed their creative side on the sly, with a writing task they enjoy. They approach the pleasurable task after completing the paid writing. The 9 to 5 is both a temporary profession and current reality. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a physician by profession who was writing on the side for a few extra quid (one-pound sterling). He wrote Sherlock Holmes.
When I write, I feel focused. What about you?
To find out, ask yourself these five questions:
1. Who are you writing for?
2. How do you feel when the words are flowing?
3. How often do you think of writing?
4. What ideas or values are you trying to convey to your readers?
5. If you could do anything without financial consequences, would you write?
Here are my answers:
1. I am writing for me. I want my writing read, but the heart of the writing comes from me. I don’t compromise myself.
2. I worked damn hard for thirty years to get to this place where I write whatever and whenever I want.
2. When I’m writing, I feel “full.” I feel joyous. My lips are pursing in and out. My brain is buzzing, overflowing with the thoughts I’m capturing.
3. Writing is a gigantic botanical garden growing inside my head. It is bright, colorful and beautiful. Even when my writing sucks as it sometimes does… it is a glomming cactus… prickly, sticky but with color.
4. I want my readers to understand that the world requires good people to make it a better place.
5. I would write if I had all the money in the world.
My answers reassure me I’m doing what I love. Answer the questions for yourself.
What do your answers say about your confidence in your chosen work?
If you don’t like where you’re going, change direction.
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My books are available on Amazon.
You can reach Toni at https://www.tonicrowewriter.com/
