First, Write for You
One of the biggest writing advice lines out there is to write for yourself. There is a lot of different opinions on whether or not this is good advice. As a self-published author, I feel like this is the best advice I have ever gotten. As a writer in general, this is something that I cling to. I write for myself first before I ever put my words in front of an audience.
I write the things I wish I had to read when I think about my books. I write what I wish I could have found on a blog or a website when I was first starting to study the Bible. I write fiction that makes me laugh because I love when books can make me laugh. Perhaps I am not looking in the right places for books (but I’m very familiar with bookstores and libraries) but I wrote what I wanted to see in the world.
Now, I write because that is my talent. I can write. (It’s basically all I can do) I understand words, I love words. I have already talked about how I cannot not write. Writing is how I process. Well, I process verbally, with words. But when I can’t talk to someone, or if I can’t figure out where to start, I pull out my journal and let the words fall.
We need to write for ourselves first because we need to be okay with the writing, the content, the final product of whatever we are writing. We need to have a vested interest in our writing in order to succeed. Success cannot be whether or not other people like our writing, that will happen regardless. Success in writing should be measured in if we like it.
I’m not sure when this changed, but I remember a time when words held power. Being a liar wasn’t something anybody wanted to be associated with. Integrity was important and valued. Putting your name on something gave it credibility and mattered. I don’t think that is how content works today. (That is a different discussion for a different day) As writers, our name is going on the content we write. If we write for markets or for the adoration of people, do our words have integrity? If we aren’t writing words we can be proud of, if we are not writing content we can be proud of, what is the point? Why write? Why not just give AI your prompt and allow robots to do the work for you?
I think AI is going to make us stupid. As a society we are already lacking in critical thinking skills and deductive reasoning skills. We lack the ability to write in complete sentences and half the time are too lazy to write assignments for school. AI is just going to magnify this problem because it is being embraced so excitedly, “I don’t have to write that email!? Score!” How are we going to create a new generation of writers if they can’t even handle the basics of writing in school?
Now, writer, you aren’t writing an email. You are writing blog posts, articles, commentary, books, screenplays, maybe even poems. When people read blog posts, articles, analysis and commentary and books they are looking for a connection. When people read poems, they are probably told to (thanks education system!)* but they are still looking for connection.
If we aren’t writing for ourselves, we aren’t connecting with an audience because we are not connecting with our own words. If we cannot connect with what we write, how will a reader? I’ve been seeing a lot of terrible writing in books lately. It’s really sad, actually. It seems to me that only those with big followings get to write books. I could be wrong. I am not in the publishing industry. However, what I see today on the self and the quality of the writing is drastically different from what I used to get on the bookshelf as little as five years ago.
I think people who have big followings get to write books regardless of writing talent or ability. I think writers who are just writers, who have dreams and hopes, who have a story to tell are pushed aside because, at the end of the day, books need to make money. We can all understand that. We’ve all seen the effects of inflation. Everything costs more. For companies to publish books these days, they want people with big followings. That following is seen as guaranteed buyers. Quality suffers though when we are only focused on the potential money and the potential marketing. Quality suffers when we have people with massive followings and no writing skills to write books. Editing is important and can help, but you cannot edit terrible quality into something amazing. The math doesn’t math.
Writer, before you worry about the audience or the market, write for yourself. Write words you can be proud of and words that you want to put your name to. Write words that are quality, important, and showcase your talent. Audience comes after that.
I wonder if Shakespeare or Fitzgerald worried about the market when they wrote their works. Did they ever sit there and ask themselves if anybody would want to read their work? I mean, probably, don’t we all think that? I wonder if they would have changed what they were writing because of what they thought other people wanted to read.
Writer, let your words connect with those who need them. Audience can come but it won’t come unless you write something worth connecting to.
*This is a joke. There are people who love to read (and write!) poetry. I just happen to be in the camp of those who wouldn’t have picked up poetry unless my teacher told me too. I’m thankful though, because poems have taught me writing skills. Poems have challenged me and given me perspective just the same as novels have.
Photo by Kaitlyn Baker on Unsplash