Why You Should (or Shouldn’t) Write a Book

Writing for Yourself Is Enough

You have this story burning inside of you—but it’s a little off-beat, or it strikes really close to home; more specifically those homes of family and friends who may read into things that are or are not there, or maybe it flies in the face of every social article you’ve read lately going directly against the bandwagon. The thought of writing won’t leave you—but it scares you too. You know your reasons for writing the book. I don’t. So how do you decide if a book is worth writing? How do you find the courage to write it? And how do you discover what it is that you really want to write in the first place? Let’s tread, but tread with caution. Don’t worry. I’ll go with you. I’ve been down this path before. Before we go, let’s get one fear out of the way.

You can write this story, however you like, as detailed as you like, and never, ever publish it.

Yup, I said it. Who says you have to share every story you write? (Hint, none of us have. Most of our early stuff isn’t even good enough to publish.) So if you feel like you need to write a story for YOU, that a good thing. Writing will grow you as a person. It will grow you as a writer. Whether you need to prove to yourself that you can actually finish a fictional, fantasy novel because you’ve never finished anything in your life. Whether you have a memory that won’t stop replaying in your head and want to get it onto paper so you can make it stop spinning and actually work through it. Whether you want to write with complete abandonment without worrying about grammar or spelling, just for the sheer joy of telling a story. (See, what I did, with a list of fragmented sentences?) Whatever your reason, the important thing is that you write. No matter if you are using writing as personal therapy, a way to explore a concept you’re curious about, or just to relax and find joy in creating something, it is enough. Likely, every book will include portions of all three. And, by the way, if you change your mind after writing the book and want to share it with a few people or release it into the world, that’s fine too—but you can also leave it in a drawer, on your hard-drive, or delete the entire thing. Writing it for yourself is enough.

Finding Your Why

Now that you can breathe again, here are the reasons you SHOULD write the book:

Reason One: It’s in your head. It’s been half-written or not even started for years and it’s bugging you, bringing you thoughts of defeat, fear, or discouragement simply because you haven’t finished it and you don’t think you have what it takes.

Why You Should Write It: Because you can! Because you weren’t made to mentally beat yourself up with negative thoughts. Your mind is actually wired for positive thoughts and when you create thought patterns that are negative, you literally cause brain damage.

Reason Two: You're trying to work out your thoughts about an issue that happened to you or a belief at large.

Why You Should: Fictional stories are a great way to explore concepts from a variety of viewpoints and scenarios. By exploring this idea in an actual scenario, you can investigate it as more than an abstract theory and explore how it would be applied to real life. By fictionalizing it, you further free up yourself to look at it from a completely different frame of reference. As your characters learn and grow, so will you. This is how I personally approach the majority of my novels. Use this to explore “what if” concepts. If you choose to explore a question that could bring up negative memories or trauma, writing can be healing but it’s important to work these things with a counselor who can help you navigate deeper issues.

Reason Three:

Because you like to write.

Why You Should: Because, why not? If it gives you joy, write! Don’t worry about spelling or grammar or if you’ve skipped hunks of the narrative. Just write. (But don’t publish!) It’s okay to dash along and get a story onto paper without judging yourself. That is actually the best way to get a draft onto paper. If you want to share it with other people, though, revisit it. I suggest you don’t even consider sharing it until you’re at least in the second draft and have smoothed out the story line and fixed the spelling and grammar to the very best of your abilities. After you get their feedback, you can make further changes and send it off to a professional editor. Then, you can share with the world. But this article is about writing the story for the story’s sake and it’s perfectly fine to write haphazardly when you’re putting a story down for the sheer fun of it. Don’t let that fear keep you from writing.

Reasons You Should Not Write A Novel

There’s really only one reason you should NOT write a novel—even if you want to. Hint: It’s about YOUR motives, not your character’s story. Spending time inside of your story forges thought patterns in your head and creates emotions that both you and a prospective reader will feel. If your story goes somewhere dark, it’s okay as long as the result ends in emotions of conquering the darkness, growing into a healthy place, or acknowledging the wrong. If your motive for writing is to bring awareness to a need and inspiring people to address it, you may have to write some dark scenarios. If your motive is merely to “get revenge” on someone, indulge a fantasy that would have consequences in real life, or imagine and create anything that creates hostile feelings toward yourself or others in either yourself or your reader, don’t write it. Remember, what you focus on will grow, so focus on thoughts that you want to be stronger in your head. Use your writing to explore and forge ideas that will inspire you, empower you, and make you into a better person.

Likely, your reason for writing isn't anything like the above and your fear is something that can and should be overcome. So write that book. Write it for your own enjoyment and growth. Write it to encourage others. Write it to show yourself that you can. And don't forget to enjoy yourself along the way.