Why Write?
â Reading time: 7 minutes
Notes |Â Source
Stepping back and reflecting on it all.
Time is Money
A lot of the time, when Iâm browsing Medium, I look at the articles that are circulating, the ones that are popular and current, having gained an audience. I ask myself, why was this written? I donât think itâs an unfair questionâââitâs difficult to find viral content without it being sprung by some sort of agenda behind it.
Out of many answers, most of them can be summed up by money. Whether itâs ethical (or unethical) sponsored content, or freelance writers with tip jars or that are on Patreon. Iâve thought about doing the latter myself, but it doesnât seem worth it:
https://wandernotebook.com/voluntary-art-4b76c6e2325a
I canât even begin to think how much work Iâd have to put in to start monetizing my writing. After doing the work, Iâd reason thatâââat least in the beginningâââIâd be making a profit around $1/hr.
Iâve worked as a cook and as a housekeeper for the past year, in order to save up for school in a few months for an Information Technology Diploma. I know how much money my time is worth right now, and itâs not that.
But I also realize thereâs a privilege in that. Unlike others, I donât need to rely on my writing for monetary support.
Recognition
In addition to money, another reason Iâve found is simply ego. People do the work of writing for the sake of an audience, whether itâs to oblige the one theyâve created or in search of one. It seems like an unwinnable battle, though. If a writer relies on the opinions of others as motivation, then thereâs often going to be times where heâll have no motivationâââand heâll just give up.
When one attempts to write for others, she loses a large amount of freedom. In a similar way to how she might lose her freedom when writing for the sake of advertisers or marketing. The writer ends up having to play it safe and replicate what has worked in the past for others, instead of trying new things that might fail.
The correct answer is that you need to learn how to write better, not how to market better. Spend a hundred hours honing your craft instead of spending ten marketing yourself. Become good enough at something that you wonât need to sell yourself.
Lunar Footprint |Â Source
Obscurity
However, letâs say for the sake of argument, that you do succeed. After a long amount of time and work, you go viral. Your work will receive a vast amount of reception and if youâre really lucky, you might have an opportunity to appear in some news story or speak on a podcast.
â But what comes after that?
What exactly do you have planned for after a sensational hit? The right answer is to continue to work diligently, but even the best work ethic cannot interfere with how often these moonshots are often one-hit-wonders. Youâll often find it impossible not to find yourself back into the shades of obscurity.
To truly leave a legacy that lasts longer than your lifetime, you canât focus on the fifteen minutes of fame that our world can give you right now. It can the body of work accumulated over the span of your entire career before you find yourself getting recognized in a meaningful way.
For Friends and Family
One of the reasons that I initially began writing was because I felt a frustrating disconnect from those around me. Iâm often introverted and keep to myselfâââand when I do open myself up, itâs often in a joking manner. A lot of people that know me personally canât take me seriously, and itâs honestly difficult to break out of the sort of character you mold for yourself after a while, specifically in an awkward atmosphere such as high school.
With that being said, Iâve realized that this doesnât actually work in practice. Iâm fairly certain the only personâââthat I knowâââthat regularly reads what I write is my family. (Hi, Mom.) The majority of people that read what I write are strangers from across the internetâââand these posts are more akin to messages in bottles, drifting aimlessly.
Over Sharing
I think a reason for this isâââin our current social cultureâââthereâs a far higher interest in personal oversharing in small bites. Whether itâs for support or schadenfreude, people turn to Twitter or Tumblr to read up on the intimate details in the lives of those they care about, to some degree.
It would be hypocritical of me to say that this form of dialogue is negativeââânot to mention condescending. Iâm definitely an advocate for others to become more vulnerable in life. Regarding the downsides, itâs not possible for me to know whether it strengthens relationships or has any sort of impact on people professionallyâââbut I do know that itâs not my style.
Iâve lived a lot of my life impulsively saying whatever was on my mind, and not thinking before I spoke. I like using Medium because it gives me a chance to slow down and ponder before making a regrettable off-hand remark. Iâve even doubled-down on this, making both my Twitter and Instagram private.
WFSW
Since I started out, my motivation has changed. My philosophy is now simply W**riting for the Sake of **Writing. I allow myself to delve into a topic, focusing on creatingâââand trying my best not to think about what the outcome might be. Itâs the process, not the product, as they say.
Most of the time, what happens is I start with one idea and then end up pushing out an entirely different one. And thereâs a chaotic, almost powerless, feeling with this. I donât care what I publish, so long that I take the time to formulate something that I can be proud of publishing.
Apathy can seem like a useless, or even dangerous thing. It can seem off-putting that I donât really keep track of my audience or what theyâre looking for. But we have a limited amount of energyâââsometimes itâs better for us to reserve our resources on the things that donât actually matter to us, or to anything in the long-term.
Just writeâââjust do it. Sometimes youâll settle and sometimes youâll push yourself to extremes, itâs useless to track the variables or try to follow the advice of those who are only actually looking out for themselves. Build yourself sandcastles and allow yourself to smile when the tide comes in.
Mindfulness
As a final note, try to ask yourself why youâre writing. Pause before hitting the Publish button. Ask a few questions: Are you really putting your best effort into what youâre doing? If notâââwhy? What, actually, is the reason that youâve decided to pour yourself and hours of your finite time into something?
Is it worth it?
Spirit Lake below Mount St. Helens |Â Source
Appendix: Reading on Medium
On a somewhat unrelated tangentâââwhen it comes down to it, I enjoy being a positive and optimistic person. To the point of being hopelessly idealâââand perhaps a bit manic. Which is why I feel disappointed in myself for writing up criticism to those thatâââI believeâââmiss the mark regarding writing.
But I canât help but feel to speak up when the writers with the high following count are giving advice such as: âfollow as many people as possibleâ. And thatâs because I feel itâs dangerous to give that kind of advice to budding, new writers looking for advice.
Thereâs an innumerable amount of content on Medium, and a lot of people donât post regularly (perhaps because, in a similar vein to Twitter, people use it for a week or two and then forget about it) and soâââas of right nowâââI follow less than forty people.
Writing on Medium is only half of the equationâââfinding interesting and innovative things to read is by other writers is the other half. I love reading books and newspapers, but thereâs a separate thrill in reading work from contemporariesâââto be able to help each other and collaborate. But building a community requires a deliberate and selective choosing in who one follows. Donât allow yourself to get caught up in the narcissism of only looking at the work youâve produced.
When I do want to search for new material, or new people to follow, I try to use interesting tags. This can lead me to find a lot of talented writers, but sadly their accounts usually become inactive after a short amount of time. Iâm not sure if Medium has hired any retention engineers, maybe they should steal a few from Facebook.