I write for myself.
It doesn’t sound very noble–especially compared to the insights Alex explored over at AlexWorld. A writer who takes her work seriously ought to be that thoughtful about the work, that understanding of the audience and the market, that deeply involved in the entire process.
But I’m not. I just write for myself.
I write the stories in my head, which are the stories that I tell myself when I’m drifting off to sleep at night or stuck in traffic on the way to work, the what-ifs that play when I overhear an interesting conversation at the coffee shop, the strange images of nightmares and the happy daydreams of a sparkling white hike on a sunny winter afternoon, when the cold air I breathe seems to clear every bit of fog from my thoughts and leave only rainbows.
Some of them play out and are gone. Some of them linger and recur. Some of them I write down. I don’t have to think too much; I just write what’s playing out in front of me, or what the voice is whispering in my ear. Sometimes I like to pretend this is the voice of the muse or something more urgent and significant than just my own pleasures, but that’s all it is. Pretense. If you call it art, you sound important.
I like to have other readers, it’s true. But if the story hasn’t already pleased me, it’s never going to see the light of day.
Today’s post was inspired by the “ideal reader” writing prompt in the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour, an ongoing tour where you, the reader, travel around the world from author’s blog to author’s blog. We have all sorts of writers at all stages in their writing career, so there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
If you want to get to know nearly twenty other writers and find out what’s on their nightstand, check out the rest of the tour! Up next: Raven O’Fiernan at Raven’s Scribblings.
Ooh. I like that. Especially the way you describe where the stories show up!
It’s good to write for yourself first. 🙂
Writing for yourself is a plus, and I can seriously relate to the way the stories come to you. Seeing them occur before you, and transcribing the events is exactly how I write, as well.
I write first for myself as well. However, having run my own business the “who is going to buy your books?” loop enters into my head and comes up with the detailed description I came up with which may or may not be anyway related to reality. 😉