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If a Writer Writes in a Forest…

If a Writer Writes in a Forest…

So–there are lots of reasons to write. We’ve discussed this–there’s the whole, making-a-living thing. There’s the helping-yourself-think thing. There’s the I-have-no-choice thing. Right. We get that.

j0262322.jpgBut then there are writers who write because they want to, they’re driven, they’re inspired.

So inspired, perhaps, that they try to write an entire novel in a month. (Sound familiar, anyone?)

Here’s my question for you, about your writing … and I don’t mean the kind that puts dinner on the table, but the more optional kind. The blog posts. The journal next to your bed. Poetry you scribble in your darkest hours. The kind of writing that you do mostly for YOU.

Does it matter to you if anyone reads it? 

Much of this kind of “I wrote it for ME” writing is not meant for public consumption of any kind. It’s written as a release, a venting system for the writer. Or it’s a way of experimenting with new styles or techniques. Brain-storming to come up with ideas or work out a problem. All of which is helpful, but NOT what you want the world-at large reading.

But, what about the things you write that you’d like other people to read? A blog post that only gets 5 hits rather than the 50,000 you think it deserves? The deeply-felt letter to a friend that doesn’t get a response?  Does it dilute your sense of accomplishment and well-being if something perfect that you’ve written does not get read by anyone else? Or is it satisfying just knowing you’ve written it?

In other words–If a Writer Writes in the Forest and No-one Reads It, Does it Count?

Okay, everyone … discuss!

7 thoughts on “If a Writer Writes in a Forest…

  1. Joanna Young

    For me, yes it counts, but probably because it’s mainly driven by the need to have it written, rather than the need for feedback and validation. (That expresses itself in other ways!) If I can re-read it and get the same sense of impact, significance and meaning that I did when I wrote it, then yes, it counts.

    Besides, even if only one person ever reads it – that might be enough. That might still have changed something.

    Joanna Young’s last blog post..Inbox or FeedReader: The Results of a Reading Experiment

  2. Lawrence Miller

    Ofttimes my secret, hidden writing is of the most important and satisfying kind. It serves many purposes, but none more important and satisfying than the freedom it is capable of imparting.

    For this one man it is the great enabler. It sometimes gives me the strength I need to overcome obstacles I otherwise could not dream of overcoming. So, yes, when I write in secret in my hidden garden, it serves me well and gives me the strength I need to break out and show the world what I have wrought.

  3. Pingback: Hump Day Reading for the Restless Soul — Write From Home

  4. Friar

    From what I’ve seen in the blogosphere, there is NO CORRELATION between writing quality and the ammount of traffic.

    But, I don’t think it’s a weird karmic scheme of the universe like Melissa says. I think it’s just one big popularity contest, that’s all.

    One of the “Cool Kids” can post a few sentences or rehash the same old crap that’s already been said umpteen times, and they’ll get 80 comments.

    But a Lesser-Known Blogger can write a beautiful heart-warming original story, and no one will read it.

    Sigh. That’s just the way it is. I try to accept it, and do my serious writing for myself.

    Friar’s last blog post..How to Suck all the Fun out of your Kids’ Childhood.