On Having Readers

Being motivated to write requires an intricate set of circumstances. First, one needs to come up with Inspiration, or a Good Idea. Good Ideas really just have to occur; you cannot force them into existence, no matter how hard you think about a subject. Sometimes, you will just mentally blink and they will appear right before you, as a complete picture in your mind that you merely need to sketch out with words as fast as possible, before that pictures fades. Other times, Good Ideas will waft through your mind, and you have to catch them and piece them together, like trying to recreate a matured dandelion: a puzzle of pollen particles that you know can wind up being something cohesive and beautiful, if only you can catch all of them and place them correctly.

However, simply finding the motivation to write down Good Ideas when they come—in whatever form they arrive—might actually be the hardest part. Doing this interrupts your day, because Good Ideas rarely arrive when you are sitting at your computer, wanting to write something witty or profound or at least mildly interesting to someone other than yourself. You have to capture the Ideas and maintain them in your mind until you create a pocket of time in which you can sit down to flesh them out. All of this takes a good deal of concentration and energy, and without some sort of purpose, some sort of reason for doing this, the effort never seems worthwhile.

This is where Readers come in. Personally, if I do not have readers, I will not write. I need responses to my writing to encourage me to continue, or even to just begin. I have discovered this to be true in every area of my “writing life”: not only would I not write performance pieces (such as stories, poems, etc.), but I would not write anything at all if I thought no one would ever read it. Usually, I only write creatively when I am prompted in a class—and then I know a teacher and probably some of my classmates will read and respond to my work, whether with constructive criticism, a grade, or just a passing comment. Then, I write letters because I am sending them to someone who will read them—and write me a letter of response! I even keep journals for the sole purpose that someday (perhaps after I die, perhaps before), someone (perhaps my children, perhaps my best friends) will find and read them and know “the intimate me.”

In effect, blogging has given me a great opportunity. By posting my writing on the internet, I can give anyone I like (who has a computer and Internet, of course) access to my writing. Then, not only can they read my writing, but they can respond to it, as well. I cannot describe the joy I feel every time someone writes to me (either posting a comment on this blog, or therwise) about something I have written. They took the time to read my writing! They thought about it! Maybe they liked it! Thus, I am encouraged to write, knowing that my Readers will check this website, seeking a new “installment.” It makes me feel “in demand” and gives me a reason to continue writing: someone wants to hear what I have to say!

This is the most inspiring feeling of all, and one I know everyone wishes to experience: feeling wanted.

I hope you are enjoying everything I have written. Thank you for motivating me—without you, I could not call myself a Writer.