Write for You

As an author, one of the most common questions we may hear is: "So, what's next?"

What is next?

You've finished your first novel. Spent hours drafting, hours editing, hours crying... and there she/he is. Printed in bold, black ink. Out there for the world to see. Sounds absolutely horrifying, doesn't it? To put your pride and joy, your hard work out there for others to judge, others to critique. To hate or to love. But, nothing is quite that simple.

We live in a society where people tend to write or create things for others. We conform to the likes and interests of those around us, and feel the nettlesome need to craft something that everyone wants to read. But if you're writing about a topic that serves little to no interest to yourself and the passion is absent, this begs the question... what the hell is the point?

People will always demand certain things to be printed into word, or filmed for the big screen, simply because they have this image... this idea that they are incapable of producing themselves, so they seek out others (writers) to bring this visual to life. Now, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but when you've committed yourself to a project solely to please a specific audience, writing becomes a chore. A drag. Meaningless and maladroit. You'll sit there with a cold up of coffee, bloodshot eyes and cramped up fingers whilst glaring at that irritable blinking black bar on your computer and wonder... why the hell am I doing this?

The desperation to be seen... to be noticed...can be utterly addicting. But when writing becomes stagnant and you find yourself forcing the inspiration, forcing the words to flow even though they refuse to come out (simply because the passion for the project is nonexistent), that's when we come to a crossroads and really wonder if any of this was worth it at all.

But when you take a step back and stop trying to impress an audience, when you focus on yourself and those wild, imaginative ideas that are racing through your head, now that is when the real magic happens. Suddenly, you're no longer writing to impress, or to meet a quota, or to just get out that damned chapter that everyone seems to be demanding but you really half-assed because you couldn't give a rats ass about the poorly developed plot or the invisible ark. You're writing for you. You're writing about what you love and what you adore. You're writing about subjects that people before you have been too anxious to ever tackle and put onto paper.

You're making history.

So, if you ever have any doubts about that seemingly silly idea swimming around in your mind, write it down. Build on it. Make something of it. You never know what could become of it.

When you start writing for yourself, you start soaking in the success. And boy, does it taste oh so sweet.