Important questions about being a good writer?

Question

I enjoy writing fan fiction on the Internet and am presently writing what will hopefully become a very long story. I have a few questions about writing that have been bugging me for a while now.

Q.1: When people write stories, are they doing it to please and entertain others who read their work, or are they writing the story for themselves and simply sharing it with others?

Q.2: I keep telling myself, "it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. It's your story and you can write whatever you like."

Is this a good attitude to have towards writing or is it selfish?

Q.3: Should I be discouraged from writing if no-one reviews to my story/chapters or says something bad about what I've written?

Q.4: What is the best way to motivate and inspire yourself to keep writing, no matter what the obstacle?

Thank you.

Answer 1

A1: It depends. It could be a combination of both. I write because I love it. It is what keeps me sane. When I write, I write what comes to me. Sometimes I am not so concerned about publication, so I write what I want. It is kinda like therapy.

If I am writing for publication, I have to consider the market. That is who you want to read it. If you are writing on a mystery site, you dont want to write a romance, so you have to consider your readers. Your still write YOUR stories, but you write it so your readers will enjoy it.

A2: It always matters what others think. You can say it doesn't, but it does, you know it, I know it. We all want people to like us and to hink well of us, it is human nature and those who say they don't care are lying to everyone, including themselves. You can be as salefish as you want as long as you don't want anyone else to read it. If you pout it out there, you owe it to your readers for it to be the best it can be.

A3: Why would you be discouraged? There could be any number of reasons people don't offer reviews. They are busy. It's not their personality. All kinds of things. You just have to believe in your heart that your words are touching people in some way when they read them. And, you could go with, no news is good news. Very few people give compliments, most only criticize. So I would not worry about it, and besides, it is only an OPINION.

A4: Read. Keep reading, and be true to your heart. Within the last couple years I have started reading biographies. I find that a lot of people give up too soon. Look at Anne Frank. She had every reason to give up and to not worry about aything. But she spent her entire time in captivity WRITING. She never gave up, she never gave in, and she left behind one of the most inspirational pieces of writing ever. Let that be your motivation.

The last one is covered up top. Write from your heart with an eye toward who you want to read it. You want people to be moved, so you have to consider them to some degree.

I hope this helps.

Karen Syed

http://karensyed.blogspot.com

Answer 2

I'm going to tell you this:  if you aren't writing for yourself then are you enjoying yourself?

If you spend you writing career worrying about what everyone thinks then you'll just be a sellout who falls to pieces at a bad review.

A lot of great writers and poets weren't discovered during their lives.  Would you rather write to please the masses and never feel satisfied, or would you like to write with your own voice?

I'm saying write what you feel - you'd be surprised who you would reach.  Even if its not everyone.  Reaching just one person makes it worth it.  

Answer 3

1.    Depends. Some do, some don't.  Ideally, though, you're writing a story that you want to write in the hope that it'll please others.

2.     By 'whatever anyone else thinks,' do you mean when friends and relatives read it?  If so, no.  It is your story and you shouldn't be influenced by others.

3.     Never, ever give up.  Yes, you'll be discouraged.  That's only natural.  You'll gather enough rejection slips to paper your wall.  But the next story may be published.  So keep on keeping on.

4.     To begin with, you must love writing to be a writer.  Love it so much that it doesn't matter what obstacles are thrown in your path.  If you really aren't all that keen on writing, try something else.

     Don't try to second guess your reading public.  You'll fail every time. Write what you want to write and you'll be fine.  For instance, if someone told me that romances were the thing to write, and I tried to write one, it'd be terrible.  A disaster.  I'm simply not a romance writer.  So stick with what you like.

Good luck

Mike B

Answer 4

I think writers should always write with the reader's reaction in mind.  If you aspire to be successful in writing, of course YOU create the story, but always imagine how your audience would react.  Say, if they read an fictional dialog (sp), you have to imagine if they think the conversations are realistic, whether the pacing is good, blahblahblah.

Persistence (in both editing/revising and asking people to read your book) and practic(ing your writing) should overcome question three...

Question four is different for everybody.  I myself get very worn out from writing a book, so much so that I just want to delete the whole thing and forget it.  But, yeah, sometimes you have to force yourself to complete it, even if you don't want to.

Now, you should write what you personally want to write, but keep in mind the reader.  Is this something they would want to read?  Am I keeping them hooked or am I drowning them in minute details?  Stuff like that.

Answer 5

I'm not going to answer them one at a time - here are some other considerations for you:

If you want to sell a book - fiction or non-fiction - you'll be working with your publisher's editor. That individual, you'll have to please.

Aside from that, write the things that mean a lot to you. Write with your own voice - not what you think other people want to hear. Who cares what they want? The new, fresh voice is what stands out. You're not being selfish. When you speak from the heart, it makes a difference. The time when you have to think most about your readers is when you're writing an article for a magazine. The publication will have guidelines and a particular audience to write to.

As to motivation, when you hit a block or dull day, just write something. Anything. Look out the window and describe what you see. Or talk about how annoyed you are at the lackluster day. If you give yourself a point of view, you'll soon be writing. And hopefully can then segue back to the book or story you're working on.

People want to know how you think, what your ideas are, your new perspectives.

For a truly original work, you might want to pick up the novel The Remains of the Day. Excellent book, unique viewpoint. The way the narrator assumes everyone reading will be as absorbed with his small world as he is is just fascinating.

Answer 6

k Q1 you write for yourself then share Q2 it doesn't matter what people think us writers don't listen to what popcorn eaters say they want to read we tell the what they want to read Q3 no never be discouraged Q4 bring up the story and stare at it until you can't stand not writing anything and start writing soon you'll have three extra pages you didn't have before Q5 you write what you want to write as i said in Q2 we tell people what to read

and if you don't beleive me i am a published author and i am not even out of high school