Writing For Yourself

As a writer, I find myself writing more and more to appease others. I write for themes I wouldn’t usually write for, for journals I would’ve scoffed at not too many months ago, and for people I have never met and probably will never meet in my entire life.

None of that is necessarily a bad thing, as it is good to push the boundaries of our own skills – to go outside of our comfort zone, if you will.

Yet, if you’ll look at the picture above, you’ll find the title of a piece I have never published. I’ve shown it to a handful of people, and I’ve debated publishing it too many times to count. I’m still debating it today, and probably will for a long time until I finally decide one way or another.

Or perhaps I won’t.

Regardless, I wrote that piece for myself. I wrote it because I had feelings I felt were best kept on paper. I wrote it because it was what I wanted to write.

Everyone wants to write a piece which will change the world, or will mean something to someone else. I believe that is a noble cause, necessary in a world so open and ever-changing. It’s nice to know someone you may never meet has certain feelings and aspirations akin to your own. Though, is it not just as important to write for ourselves? Must we always write just to publish? Must we always write just for the readers?

I believe we should write for ourselves just as much as others. We can fulfill the duty to others while fulfilling a duty to ourselves.

Yet, I often feel myself losing the answer to those questions. What do you think? Let me know, and comment below.

Thanks for reading.

-Lissy

Filed under: Personal Posts, Writing and Marketing Tips, Writing Tips