Reasons to NOT Become a Writer

There are thousands of reasons why a person decides to become a writer. To narrow the list down just a tad, I visited a few different sites to see what they had to offer, but also to see if any of the reasons struck a tuning fork against my skull. They did. Many of the sites listed similar reasons. I’ve identified the Top 5, or at least the ones I’ve heard over and over again.

To be fair, these are all reasons why I initially started writing, but they are NOT the reasons why I continue to write. Maybe they were good enough to get me started in the beginning. But I would venture to say that none of these are valid reasons for starting to write. Certainly they aren’t valid reasons for continuing to write.

Every writer must find his or her WHY. Yeah, I know, I’m tired of hearing that piece of advice too. But especially for writers — for anyone, really, who is channeling a creative outlet — finding that reason why is super important. I would argue that why you write is more critical that how you write or when you write or where you write or even how well you write. Why you write will keep you going no matter how well or poorly everything else is going, whether you experience success or failure, whether you feel motivated or exhausted, whether you get published or not, whether you decide to become a pro or continue doing it just for fun.

And believe me, I know, because I started out doing it for all the wrong reasons. But no matter how many times I’ve pulled out my hair and quit, eventually I always come back to it because I understand my why, although it took me years of frustration to get there.

So here are my Top 5 reasons I’ve seen people become writers (including me in the beginning) and why I think they’re just plain wrong:

1. YOU WANT VALIDATION

I’ve been in a lot of writing groups, and I’ve seen lots of different kinds of writers. A couple of the most prolific writers I’ve ever met came to meetings with thousands of new words they’d written during the week. Chapters of new material for us to review. I was amazed at how much they could write in such a short amount of time. But the new material wasn’t ready yet to review. I think they probably knew this. I don’t think it really mattered to them. They weren’t really looking for a true critique of their work or feedback on how the story could be improved. Some of these folks even became downright angry if anyone dared challenge any part of their story. What they really wanted was for people to oooh and aaah at how much content they created, to marvel with the fun new magic system they developed, to fall in love with their highly-detailed characters, to feel traumatized by the tragic and elaborate backstories they made. They came for the social aspect of the group and to make friends, and this is not an invalid reason for joining any kind of a social group. Heck, I’m in a writing group. And the other members of the group are amazing. And we all encourage each other and support each other in our goals. It’s a true comradery of like-minded people focused on the work. Yes, we support each other. Yes, we are all friends. But that association is all centered around the work itself. We all have similar goals. We all have similar why’s. It’s the work that matters. So if the work isn’t all that important to you, and you’re more interested in the validation and the social aspect of the group, maybe you’d be more comfortable in, say, joining a book club instead, where you can freely talk about stories without all that hassle of actually having to write one.

2. YOU WANT TO CHANGE THE WORLD

I won’t say that stories haven’t changed the world or that authors don’t have a place in history. Writers have given us some highly relevant cautionary tales which are especially applicable in our current, highly-politicized world. George Orwell’s 1984 comes to mind, as does Hans Christian Anderson’s The Emperor’s New Clothes. But I would venture to say that none of those authors set out to change the world by writing their stories. JK Rowling has stated in many interviews that she wrote Harry Potter as a way of working through her own trials and adversities. Certainly she wasn’t trying to create a global phenomenon. There are two dangers when you write with the intention of changing the world with your stories. First, that’s way too much pressure to put on yourself or your stories. It’s hard enough to write a good story. Now you want your story to kick down doors and take no prisoners and change the hearts and minds of future generations to come? I can’t think of a faster way to burn yourself out. The second danger is this: what happens when no one wants to publish your story? Even worse; what happens when no one’s even interested in reading it? All that planning. All those outlines. All that research. All those endless rewrites and edits. And for what? What do you do now? Maybe work on trying to change one person’s mind first with your story before taking on the whole world.

3. YOU WRITE TO STAY SANE

I have a funny writing tee shirt at home that says, “I write to give all the voices in my head something productive to do.” It gets a laugh every now and again. It’s one of those polite laughs though, the kind where people are looking at each other and probably wondering, Is this guy being serious? Is he, like, really okay? While it’s true that people do write to help them sort out emotions, traumas, difficult times, etc., I have to worry if someone is truly writing as a mechanism for staying sane. (That actually sounds like the premise for a good story.) Like, if I didn’t write down all these thoughts in my head, I might actually become a danger to myself or others. If the kind of writing we’re talking about here is journaling as part of a therapy technique encouraged by your mental health professional, okay, I can get on board with that. But if you’re actually trying to publish those dark thoughts, and you expect people to buy those scribblings…? Uuuhhh… I’d be more than a little worried. The days of the tortured artist are long gone, and good riddance too. We’ve come a long way in understanding the effects that mental health and harmful addictions can have on our ability to produce art and express our creativity. If the voices get too loud every time you power down your laptop, getting published is the least of your concerns.

4. YOU WANT TO QUIT YOUR DAY JOB

As someone who writes stories AND has a day job, I can 100% understand this dream. I’ve watched movies and read stories about characters who save up their money, quit their day job, and devote themselves full time to achieving their dream and making it big. In reality, they burn through their savings long before signing that eight-figure book contract, then they’re right back out there with their updated resume looking for a job. The truth is you’re lucky to have a good paying job while you pursue your writing dream. You can feed your family. You have adequate health insurance. You can pay the bills. You drive a reliable vehicle you’re not worrying about all the time. Imagine how much less stress you have not worrying about where your next meal is coming from, or how in the world you’re gonna make rent this month. That’s more energy available that you can focus into your writing. We no longer idolize the image of the tortured artist — and rightly so — but guess what? The idea of the ‘starving artist’ ain’t any romantic-er. Or something. Shut up, that is too a word. I mean, I guess if you’re fresh out of high school or college, and you’re single, and you really don’t care about things like living independently or having a meaningful relationship, or you’re not interested in starting a family… sure, go for it. But if you or someone else in your life depends on your for their support…? Do yourself and them a favor and keep the day job. At least until you retire or hit the lottery.

5. YOU WANT TO MAKE A BAJILLION DOLLARS

Listen, I’m not gonna lie and tell you there’s no money to be made in writing and being a famous author. We can all list on our fingers and toes the Stephen Kings and JK’s and Sandersons of the world. Maybe you can even use all ten fingers and seven toes to list the rich and famous authors off the top of your head. That’s, what, twenty seventeen rich and famous authors out of, geez, how many hundreds of thousands? There are currently more than three million authors listed on Amazon. Okay, yes, granted, I’m sure you’re better than half of them. Possibly better than 75% of them. But even with that, we’re still talking about a field with several hundred thousand viable competitors. Are you really in the top twenty seventeen? “Come on, Morgan, are you really telling me I’ll never make money as an author?” Absolutely not. I’m just saying that you shouldn’t become a writer with the goal of getting rich and famous, because the odds, unlike in the Hunger Games, just ain’t ever gonna be in your favor.

“Well for crying out loud then, why in the world SHOULD I become a writer?”

I don’t actually know. I have no idea why you should become a writer. I only know why I became a writer. Initially, like I said, it was for all these reasons and more. After nearly fifteen years of writing though, I don’t do it to impress other people. The world hasn’t changed because of my stories. I don’t actually write to keep the voices in my head contained (because they spill out no matter how little or how much I write, Precious.) I still head to the office every day and work at my day job. And none of the fifty-seven stories that I’ve written so far have ever sold to any publisher. So why do I still do it? Simple. I just enjoy it. I do it because I like it. Sure, I’ve quit many times. I get frustrated. I get blocked. I have trouble coming up with ideas. But I always come back to it. And that’s all the reason I need.

Do you write? Do you sing? Dance? Play an instrument? Draw? Sculpt? What drives you? What’s your WHY? Let me know in the comments.