Why write?

You could apply this question to any creative act, of course.  In the past few years I’ve found myself having the same conversation with various people when the subject of my writing has come up.  Often, people are surprised to learn the amount of time I spend on this.  When I tell them I’m not yet a traditionally published author (soon to be self-published – but that’s a whole different blog post) the reaction can be one of incredulity.  The subtext to their polite comments can be boiled down to:

If you’re not selling thousands of books and making a living off your writing then what’s the point?

I’ve asked myself this question on occasions …

An early lesson I learned is being clear on your goals and what being successful means for you.  Frankly, there are far easier ways to make money.  Creative and financial success are two different things, although knowing your craft and putting out the best possible book will improve your chances of making a sale!  However, if you start out measuring your progress purely based on book sales you’re likely to be disappointed and I suspect before too long you’ll set aside writing altogether.  It’s hard to break into the increasingly crowded author market and only a tiny fraction of writers make a living from their books alone.

I’ve written five novels since 2005.  However, it took me until 2015 before I was writing material to a publishable standard.  In the past five years my voice as an author has matured and with it has come the confidence to share what I’ve created with the unsuspecting public.

Were those fifteen years a waste of time?  Of course not.  I was learning my craft.  It took me years to understand what’s required to put together a novel-length manuscript and how to tell a compelling story.  I wouldn’t be the writer I am today in 2020 if I hadn’t been the writer I was in 2005.

I didn’t really understand the journey I was on at the time.  The main reason I put pen to paper back then is the same reason as now – it was fun.  Writers write because they enjoy it and, in most cases, they couldn’t think of doing anything else.

I think authors experience many of the same pleasures as their readers.  Fiction writing is an act of pure escapism, where author and reader alike can lose themselves in another world.  Those characters become real – we share in their triumphs and feel for their loss and pain when they face adversity.  We want to know what happens next.  As an author, I don’t think anything can beat the dizzying rush of the unexpected, when a story goes off in a surprising direction you never saw coming.  Yes – this happens to authors too.  A writer must always give their tale room to breathe and grow, as your subconscious mind makes those intuitive links that bind the final story together.

Creative writing has also introduced me to wider community.  I’ve enjoyed sharing my work with others through working with test readers, my editor and agent and cover artists.  Although writing is a solitary profession it also gives you the opportunity to forge those wider creative partnerships, compare your work and bounce ideas off each other.

Aside from the pure pleasure it brings, at a more fundamental level writing is a positive act.  The world would be a poorer place without the creative arts, which add colour and texture to society, as well as enriching our lives.  Making a positive contribution and writing something for other people to enjoy has its own value.  If I’ve put the best versions of my novels out there then I’ll consider that to be a success.