People always seem to think that writing should be for the writer's sake, and that the writer should be happy with the work regardless of what others think of it. That's right... to a point. Of course, there's striving for quality, which really can't be done by one's self, but that's not the only reason to share one's work.
I think it's important—maybe even more so—to let others enjoy it.
Now, to some extent, I do have a need to write every once in a while. Once I spend time beyond that on a story, though, what is it for? Maybe it's not necessarily wrong to just write a lot for my own enjoyment, but, when I think about it... Isn't it a little bit selfish? If it's exclusively about what I want, and I'm putting tons of my time and resources (and maybe even some others') into it just to have fun myself, wouldn't that seem a little self-centered? I could be spending that time helping people, or at least hanging out with them so the enjoyment is shared.
So I kind of feel obligated to share my writing. In my case, this is hardly a burden; in fact, I have trouble writing most things without some friends' feedback along the way. But that's not the case for every writer and every story, and I think we have a responsibility to let other readers in on the fun. Maybe it's just a silly story, and maybe it's more than rough around the edges, but someone out there could really enjoy it or even learn from it (whether that be a life lesson or just some material for mnemonics). And who am I to keep that from them?
I might have a weird way of looking at things, but how about you? Do you think a writer is obligated to share? Only under certain circumstances?
I guess we're going to disagree on this, but I don't think it's at all selfish to write for oneself. It's just a hobby; there's no obligation to share one's stories with the world. Of course, it's fun to put them out there for people to read, and I do hope that people will enjoy my stories, but I don't feel like I'm withholding something by not putting some of them online. (Especially since few enough people read my stories anyway, so I hardly think anyone would miss them.)
ReplyDeleteYou could look at it either way.
DeleteHey, it doesn't matter how popular it is as long as that *one* person who'll really get something out of it stumbles across it, yeah?
I agree. I like thinking of stories, and it seems a shame to let so much time go nowhere, so I write and draw them, but If no one cares why bother. I'd like for more authors to tell how much input they take from fans, to compare favorite stories for author vs. fan content. Mlp seems like a good illustration for me. Season one was the writers writing. Not many memes or fan references. Season two had some it seemed, and the characters were more develpoped. Many good episodes, my favorite season. Season three was taking the fan pandering overboard though. It's like they were trying too hard to say 'hi' to us. A few good episodes, but my leas favorite season. Season four seems to have turned down the fanpandering, and is better than season three so far, to me. So I think it's a balance. The more focused you are on pleasing others, the less it seems unique. Afterall, you can only cater to popularity based on what's already known to be loved.
ReplyDeleteMim
Good point at the end. I don't keep that good track of any series myself, ha.
Delete