what are the reasons people want to write..besides the egotism of being perceived as an author?

Question

im surprised none of you said it clarifies your own thinking in the course of expressing yourself on the page.

it allows you to untangle your thoughts and opinions and clear up the confusion in your head by putting it in a clear and ordered form

Answer 1

Did Samuel Beckett and Dennis Potter have huge egos?
I think most authors are writing for altruistic motives, but Dan Brown is in it for the money.

Answer 2

Why do you think authors only write to brag about being an author? There was a time when it wasn't really a respectable occupation.

Why does any artist create a work? To tell a story, to express a point or a feeling, to inform, or as a personal catharsis. To live on past this life. Everyone's ending is the same--you die. Your body might decay but the words you write and the things you do live on forever.

Answer 3

I think humans are social by nature, and we have a drive to communicate our experiences with others. This is why in many cultures there are traditions of sitting with your family or clan and sharing stories or listening to the older people share stories. It may have arisen in order to improve hunting and gathering, or for elders to help younger generations, but this seems to be something within every person, to communicate and be understood.

There is also a desire to make something permanent by writing it down and distributing it to others. Whether it is an event, an opinion, or an idea, when we have something (or someone) we don't want to forget, and we don't want the world to lose, we share it with other people in the hopes that it continues on.

Answer 4

Because if I couldn't... I think I would wither away and die...


Nothing to do with Ego... I personally don't really give a rats butt what other people think of my writing and that's why I don't ask just any random anyone, for their uneducated opinion anymore.

Some people will say anything is good just to avoid coming off as rude or snobbish... Personally, I would rather be told the truth. As a writer I don't see the value in a fake, pleasant review of my words...

I think that to be chosen, like in publication, means that someone else saw value in what you had to say. Someone who was in a position to say if it actually is good or not? Someone worth listening to.. To me, that is the reason I publish my work. Not because of Ego per se, but for validation I suppose?

But a bad review or a denial letter... (and I have had butt loads of them too,) would never stop me from writing... I don't think that is possible... It is something I absolutely have to do to maintain some semblance of sanity. I simply can't help it. Good or bad (always with the hope that my work is always improving) but either way. I have to do it...

Priase, ego, painful honesty, attention, accolades or just my journal... I have to write!

Answer 5

Some writers can be egotistical and smug (J.K. Rowling, anyone? Then again, she can afford to be. She's richer than the Queen of England!), but the majority do it because it's an obssession for them. Stephen King says he gets grumpy if he hasn't written in a while and that he misses his stories.

The reason I write is because it's something I love doing, it's such a feeling of accomplishment to finish a piece of writing and even better if other people like it.

Then, if you're extremely lucky, there are the bonuses that your creative talent can bring you. The money for top writers is phenomenal, you work from home, you're pretty much your own boss, there's fame there too. What's not to like?

Answer 6

Most writers, whether famous or not, whether rich or not, write because it's an inner need. Dean Koontz claims he never has writers block, and it must be true because he's written nearly a hundred books in his lifetime and he's still going at it! At National Novel Writing Month, Chris Baty says writing a 50,000 word novel in a month is good just to get people to write novels who wouldn't have written them otherwise!
Writing feels good, especially when you know you're in control of what happens to your characters, though it's even better when your characters take control of you and lead you along on a fun journey!

Answer 7

Well, there's the obvious: The desire to express themselves. For me, personally, I love to write, for myself. If others read it and enjoy and get something out of it then it makes me feel that much better. But if no one reads it, then that's fine too. I write first and foremost for myself. Not in a selfish way, but it's a way for me to lay out my thoughts, process them on paper. Writing has also been very therapeutic for me.

Why do some people paint? Why do some people shoot hoops or kick around a soccer ball? Why do some people love a walk through the woods..? Simply because they do and they enjoy it. Same goes for why I write- I write because I enjoy it.

Answer 8

Of course there is ego involved. People who write think that they must have something to say worth reading. But also, I personally write because I have so many damn stories in my head, I've got to get them out somehow. Once I've worked through a story, that particular thread tends to leave me alone. Otherwise, the characters are constantly bugging me.

Answer 9

Most people write because they feel they have something to say. They don't write for fame or fortune. They write because they are driven by an urge to put things in writing, to express themselves and give back to the world.

Answer 10

I do it because it's what I'm best at, I was always complimented by teachers on my creative writing and was put into the smart kid group simply because I could write well and was imaginative.

I couldn't see myself doing anything differently, and I don't care if I'm ever known or not, so long as I can survive I'll be happy writing.