Why write?
There are
probably as many answers as there are writers.
At one end of
the spectrum are those for whom it’s just a job—a way to make a living—a
business. For those at the other end, it’s an art—self-expression—a creative
outlet.
Those at the
“business” end of the spectrum don’t always care what they write so long as it
makes money. Those at the other end write whatever they want and don’t much
care if they get paid for it. I have known both types and, at the extremes, each
type seems equal in its disdain for the other.
As is
usually the case in life, I believe there’s a middle ground. Getting paid for
what you write is not necessarily “prostituting your art.” Nor is putting art
before commerce always unrealistically idealistic.
In fact, I
believe most writers, in their heart of hearts, are driven to some extent by
idealism—the urge to create something beautiful, original, and self-satisfying.
And they work to develop the skills that allow them to do so. If they can sell
it, so much the better. So we search for that point somewhere toward the
middle, where the scales balance.
Then again,
what do I know?
For decades,
I have worked at a different kind of writing—advertising copy—penning innumerable
words whose sole purpose is persuading people to part with money. And getting
paid to write it.
The other
stuff I write these days—poems, short stories, novels, history, essays,
magazine articles—I write because I want to, and it doesn’t pay nearly as well.
Call me
crass, but even though I don’t write that stuff just to make money I wouldn’t
mind it one bit if more people were willing to part with their money to read
it.