Is Writing Worth It?
I’ve asked myself this question many times. Sometimes the answer came back ‘no’ and other times as a resounding ‘yes!’. I’ve had times where I was writing a new book every few months and then nothing for a couple of years. There are a lot of emotional ups and downs with writing, or any creative effort, for that matter, and figuring out how to navigate those is one of the challenges for those in the arts.
I’ve experienced some of the same things with my music career. We musicians pour our hearts and souls into our music, sometimes to roaring applause and sometimes to a courtesy clap (if even that). With writing, it can experience the same feelings. We put the best words we can think of into a novel, do our best at plotting it and reworking it, and then some yayhoo on Amazon or Goodreads rips it apart and says how terrible it is. They’ve insulted our baby!
Sometimes, the tearing apart of our stories happens earlier during writing group critiques and after editors get a hold of it. It can feel demoralizing, but at the same time, it is something we really must endure and embrace if we want to improve and see past our blind spots. Sometimes that thing that we thought was a brilliant idea just flat out isn’t. Such feedback is vital if we want our stories to reach their fullest potential. When we don’t listen to others’ inputs, we can end up with some horrible stories or at best mediocre. Just think about George Lucas and the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Still, it hurts when our baby gets beaten up out behind the barn.
You’ve gotta work for it
Writing (and music, for that matter) takes a lot of work. When we realize how much work it takes, it can feel demoralizing. We should constantly be seeking to improve our skills and knowledge. I heard it said once that a musician who is not learning is no longer a musician. That might be a little harsh, but there’s some truth to it. The same with writing. I’ll often attend a class or watch a video from a writing instructor that makes me feel like a total newb. I’ll think, “There’s no way I can write with that much poise or elegance,” or, “Man, I’ll never understand how to adequately express my character’s motivations and how to tie them into the theme.” It can be tempting to give up when we see so many writers who we feel are better than us.
At the same time, it can be exciting to see how much we’ve grown and improved. I remember one time talking to Tracy Hickman about my first novel, The Dragon War Relic, and how I could now see so many things I did wrong and that needed improvement. He told me that you, as a writer, have to keep in mind that your best work is still in front of you. We should be learning and improving. During the last couple of weeks, I’ve been re-editing my story, Tales of Myrick the (Not So) Magnificent, Volume 3: Magic Socks be Darned, which I wrote something like six years ago. It had already been professionally edited so I didn’t think I would need to make a lot of changes. But it did. I found several sentences that weren’t as clear as they should be. Other sentences were too wordy and I used way too much passive voice for my taste. I enjoyed the edit, though, and felt a measure of success that my writing skills have, indeed, improved.
What is your goal?
Back to the main question, though, is it worth it? If your goal is to get filthy stinking rich and retire after your million-selling epic fantasy trilogy, then probably not. You are opening yourself up for disappointment. Now, if it happens, great. I do believe that if we put the time in, at some point we will receive a reward, it just might not happen right away. For me, it hasn’t happened yet, even after 15 years of writing. I’ve had some success, but not enough to retire on. Or to buy lunch.
And that was the main reason why I almost quit several times. I couldn’t think of a justifiable reason to keep at it. Most of the time after I resolved to retire from writing, though, I found myself getting up the next morning and resuming writing again. I wasn’t sure why. Other times, I’ve succeeded at putting down my keyboard for a while, resolving to not pick it up again.
This is what I found about myself, though, I am much happier when I’m writing. I think it is a part of the creative personality’s psyche. With my music, I find a lot of release and happiness picking up my sax or clarinet and wailing out an improvised jazz solo even if there’s no one else in the room to hear it. I’ve determined the same thing with my writing. I am happier with my life when I’m creating stories. It no longer matters to me if anyone else reads it or if it becomes a bestseller, I just want to write it and let that part of my soul sing. Recently, I’ve had to temporarily put writing aside for other reasons, like needing to focus on something else like music or work or family. When I can’t write, I’ll still brainstorm story ideas and jot them down either in Google drive, a random notebook somewhere, or a yellow sticky note (yeah, I need to learn to be a little more organized).
So, if you have the same question, ask yourself, “Does this bring me happiness?” If the answer is ‘yes, then by all means, write like there’s no one reading. And if someone does read, then all the better.