Our motivation for writing is vital to understand.
Maybe you’ve heard the saying “Everyone has a book inside of them.” A quick google search shows upwards of 80% of Americans say they want to write a book. Each November finds hundreds of thousands of writers across the world hunkering down to write their novels through the novel writing nonprofit NaNoWriMo.
Chances are you would like to write a book too.
What is it about writing a book that sparks so much interest?
Whether it’s a novel, a screenplay, a thesis, poetry, songs, many of us have creative endeavors we are pursuing. And that begs the question: Why?
What is our motivation? Why do we write?
Why do YOU write?
This isn’t just curiosity asking. Part of it is curiosity for sure- I do love to hear where people are coming from! But there’s more to it than that.
At the end of the day it doesn’t matter whether I understand why you’re writing or if you understand why I’m writing.
But we should each understand ourselves and why we are writing.
Why we write will influence what we write, how we write, and whether or not we actually WILL write.
There are as many reasons to write as there are books at your local library. Everyone’s approach is slightly different.
What about you? Do you know why you write?
Maybe you want to share a story you think others will enjoy. Or maybe you want to make lots of money- and who doesn’t?! Perhaps you want to be able to work from home. Teach about something you love. Maybe you want to share some lessons you’ve learned or share a viewpoint others may benefit from. Perhaps you want to prove to yourself or others that you can do it.
These are all perfectly legitimate reasons to write.
There’s no “right” reason to be writing a novel. This isn’t a quiz, I promise! And (to make it even more confusing) sometimes the reasons we write are mixed together with other reasons or maybe they end up changing over time.
Why is this a big deal?
Because why we write influences how we approach our craft.
It influences what our end goal is. It changes what success looks like.
This makes our motivations very important.
So take a moment. Think about it.
Well? What did you come up with?
Is it simply because you want to? Is it because you read a lame book once and decided you could do better? Is it to prove something to your coworkers? Is it because you’ve dreamed about it since you were a kid?
Whatever the reason, let’s take another moment and think about how your reasons change where you’re going.
For instance: I like reading stories with my 3 year old and I want to make her smile. I want her to feel special. So I want to write a story including her as a character that tells her how much I love her.
This story will never get published or become a bestseller. I don’t need to pitch it to an agent or worry about query letters or the market demand, so the writing and assembling side of things can be a bit simpler. The book is for my girl, only what she’ll like matters.
Our goals change our writing process.
Maybe you want to get a book traditionally published. Your writing and publishing process will be different than if you want to write a fanfiction story for your friends or if you want to self-publish a series of ebooks.
I hope you have an idea of who you are as a writer and what your goals are.
If you haven’t done so recently, take a minute to jot down your thoughts in a purpose statement for yourself to look back on as needed. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy. Just a sentence or two. I like to write things down on paper or I you can just finalized in your mind if you think you can remember it. Do what works for you.
The important bit is that we know who we are and where we want to go as writers.
This purpose statement is a good thing to keep in mind both for when we are developing our writing goals and also for when writing gets hard. Because it will get hard. And sometimes we need to be reminded of why we started in the first place.
A purpose statement can keep us on track.
Once we know where we want to go we can better make goals and plans that reflect that.
Only once we understand where we’re going can we get there effectively without getting distracted and waylaid along the way.
Side Note: Occasionally I find motivations within myself that I don’t like. This is just as important (if not more so) to identify.
For instance, occasionally the people pleaser side of me rises up and tries to tell me I need to do certain things or achieve certain levels of success (such as publishing a book) in order to be “good enough.” This is rubbish.
The truth is my value as a person is not related to whether I’ve published a best selling novel.
And if I am trying to push my writing forward with unhealthy motivations it can be harmful for me personally and it can also stunt my writing because I will have undue pressure and baggage tied to it.
So when I recognize this motivation cropping up in myself it’s important for me to remember both where my true value lies and also remember why it is I wanted to write in the first place.
I write because I find truth and beauty in stories.
I write because I love how words can come together to create something powerful.
I write because stories move me.
I write because I dream of stories and questions that haven’t been written yet.
I write because I can and because the challenge of it excites me.
These are a few of the reasons why I write.
What about you??
I would love to hear your reasons for writing!! Please share below and tell us a bit of what makes you write and how that shapes both you and your writing.
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