What’s Your Motivation For Writing?
What’s Your Motivation For Writing?
Whatever it is, Own it.
Whatever it is, Own it.
I’m taking a class on self-publishing from my friend Angela Sanders, who we call The Amazing Angie because she is good at everything she touches. And her class is fabulous (so far it is only an in-person format, sorry).
She begins the first class session by asking writers their motivation for self publishing. She encourages everyone to think deeply about their motivations because it can make a real difference in how they approach publishing. What’s important, she says, is to get clear on your motivation and then own it.
I love this.
Face the Daunting Page Like the Kick-ass Writer You Are
You’re fired up, ready to write.medium.com
What Are Your Motivations for Writing?
And I’ve started to think of it in regards to writing. What are your motivations for writing? In other words, why do you write? Sometimes I think that is one of the hardest questions to answer. Let’s look at some possible motivations.
I write because I have to. I write because I must. I write because I love to tell stories, to immerse myself in a different world. But then, I also write to inspire and encourage other writers. And, hell yeah, I’d love to earn the big bucks from my writing. So I have a lot of different motivations, just as you might, too.
For the joy of it
Because you love writing. You’ve written ever since you were a kid, and you fill pages of journals and computer files with words. You are crazily prolific. Because, you write for the joy of it.
This Phrase is the #1 Killer of Dreams
Don’t Let it Slay Yoursmedium.com
To publish
You’ve always wanted to be a writer. You envision a bookshelf full of books you’ve authored. You love the trappings of being a writer and you can’t wait until your name graces the cover of a book
Glory
Fame! You’d love to see your name in lights. You’re aiming for a bestseller. You want to be a household name, as famous as Stephen King or J.K. Rowling.
To spread your message
You live to serve others. You have important knowledge to share. You aim to inspire.
Money
You love writing, you love money, and you’d love to combine both.
To promote your business
You see your book as your business card. It will further your entrepreneurial goals, and get you better known in your field.
As therapy
Expressive writing is your jam. When you’re upset or even wildly happy, you take to the page to record it all — and process it. You love writing to prompts and fill pages of your journal with your musings.
Quit Resisting Journaling and Use it to Improve Your Writing
Maintaining a journal can help your writing in many ways.medium.com
To chronicle events
You’re the journalist! Your goal is to tell the story — to show the world what’s happening, to write about real people and places and events.
A combination of several of these
Maybe you love to write for the sheer pleasure of it..but man, it would be nice to make some money at it, too. Or perhaps you have a strong, vital message to share — but you secretly harbor a desire to see your name on the bestseller list.
I write for a variety of reasons myself:
I write because I have to — I go a little crazy when I don’t. I write because I love to tell stories, to immerse myself in a different world. But then, I also write to inspire and encourage other writers. And, hell yeah, I’d love to earn the big bucks from my writing. So I have a lot of different motivations, just as you might, too.
But, really? It doesn’t matter what my motivation is. It doesn’t matter what your motivation is. There’s nothing wrong with any of them. What matters is that you take your motivation to the page with you and use it write as much as you can.
Because, the only motivation that matters is the one that gets you to the page.