Douglas
http://selfpubauthors.com/2014/03/07/why-do-you-write-what-you-do/
Why Do You Write What You Do?
by Ruth Ann Nordin
There are different reasons people write. Some write to educate, some to gain prestige,
some to inspire, some to entertain, some to simply see their story in their own
hands (or eReader), some to pay bills, and other reasons I hadn't thought of.
There is no right or wrong reason to write. We are all different. Our needs and desires are not the same. In other words, there is no one-size fits all
way of doing any of this. This is why
you can't pinpoint a specific formula on what someone did and get the same
results. Everyone's results are going to
vary. Unlike the 2+2=4 equation, writing
and the byproducts are writing are not fixed.
The first thing you want to figure out is why you are
writing.
You can have more than one reason. Often, we have a couple anyway. I'll list some possible reasons.
1. The love of
writing
For some writers, they write because they love it. If they didn't write, they'd go crazy. They need to write. It is an essential part of who they are. But there are some writers who could leave it
all behind. If they never wrote another
word in their lives, they'd be perfectly content. This distinction right here is where all the
other reasons for writing branch out into different categories.
2. Writing to inform,
inspire, entertain, gain prestige, money, pleasure....and so on
Nonfiction vs. fiction.
There can be some overlap in these areas. A person writing fiction might take some
experience in their lives or in someone else's life and weave that into a
story. A person wishing to inform people
about a certain product might weave in a fictional example to help get their
point across.
An owner of a business might wrote a book teaching people
about their product to help gain credibility as a business owner. Or maybe that owner hopes to boost sales for
the product or earn more money by selling the book. A professor might write an article for a
journal to gain some prestige. A writer
might write a book in hopes of becoming a household name. Someone who is the sole breadwinner of the
family has a greater need to provide a living through their writing than
someone who has a spouse who earns the living.
Someone who wants to share their journey with others and help them
through a rough time may not care at all about money at all.
3. Writing for
yourself or others
Some people write for themselves. Some write for a niche group. Some for a wide audience.
I know there are some people who argue that if you write
only for yourself, you have no business publishing a book, but I disagree with
that. Everyone has a right to publish a book,
regardless of their reason for writing.
Not everyone writing is looking for money or has a plan to promote their
book. If you just want to have a copy of
your book in your hands and on your eReading device, there's nothing wrong with
that. If you want to write for a small
group of people, there's no reason why you can't do that. One of the best things about self-publishing
is that it's opened the door for a variety that wasn't there before.
For people looking to write for a wider audience, narrow
down your audience. Even if you want the
widest audience possible, your book will not appeal to every single person from
0-100 regardless of religious faith, cultural background, economic status, etc. For example, a hardcore 40-year-old science
fiction lover is probably not going to want to read a New Adult romance. It's possible but not likely. Knowing your audience will help you tailor
your books to that group when you write them.
You can write for yourself and a wider audience. Usually, that seems to be the case with
fiction writers. Perhaps you love
writing horror and happen to find an audience who shares your joy for
horror. That's having your cake and
eating it, too. And there's nothing wrong with writing primarily for yourself
and happening to build a fan base while you're at it. Likewise, there are some authors who don't
care for a certain genre but write it for their audience. Again, it's fine to do it that way if that is
what falls into the writer's goals.
Someone on a forum mentioned that they write what they do because that
is what pays the bills. But the stories
this writer chooses is based solely off what the fans want, and I'm sure that
affects the approach the writer uses when writing their books.
The reasons are not limited to these things but hopefully
this will help you think of your own reasons for writing.
Next time I post, it'll be about using the reasons we write
what we do and developing a strategy for what you write and a publishing
schedule.
Ruth Ann Nordin | March 7, 2014 at 8:28 am | Categories:
Psychology of Writing & Publishing, The Writer & Author | URL:
http://wp.me/pLEbI-1ym
