Why Do You Write?


Why are you writing?  You need to be clear on your purpose. Although we all would like to be well compensated, if you are writing just for the money or to be famous, you will never sustain a writing life.  Writing is a passion and a process.  Understanding why your write will help you direct the process.   When you are in the middle of writing you need to be writing because you want to write.  If you are writing to market yourself but do not value the process of writing, then maybe what you want to do is hire a ghostwriter. 

So the question is…As a writer, are you committed to the process?  Writing is a commitment. Many people want to write, but never seem to make it happen.  How we spend the time in our life reflects what we value.  If you don’t make time to write, then at this juncture in your life writing is not what you value, at least not right now.

I know writers who have full lives with children, families, full time jobs, community commitments and still find time to write an hour or two a day, by getting up at 4 or 5 in the morning.  They value writing so have found a way to squeeze it into their lives.  I am not suggesting that you need to write 2 hours a day.  There are no judgments about how much your write or when your write. What is important is to notice where you put your time and focus.

If you really want a clear picture of what you are putting value on in your life, track all your activities for one week.  You may be surprised where your time goes and you may just find some additional writing time.


Mary Jo Guglielmo is writer and intuitive life strategist. For more information check out  www.donorth.biz   or folllow her at:

http://facebook.com/DoNorth.biz  


12 comments:

D. Jean Quarles said...

So true! I make excuses and procrastinate, but the desire and need to write or even edit follows me so doggedly that I have no choice but to find the time to deal with it. Thank you for this post. Such a good reminder.

Heidiwriter said...

I'm with you, D. Jean. I call myself the Queen of the Procrastinators, but I do HAVE to write! Sometimes it's a love-hate relationship, but I always come back to it. Good post!

Karen Cioffi said...

Mary Jo, tracking your time is an good way to see where it's going. And, in today's faster than fast world it sure goes fast. :)

Knowing where you can cut time-corners may be just the thing to squeeze in daily writing.

Mary Jo Guglielmo said...

For me, scheduling the time in on my calendar helps.

Mary Jo Guglielmo said...

Heidi, you might enjoy checking out my post on procrastination styles.

http://theadvantagepoint.wordpress.com/2012/03/31/whats-your-procrastination-style/

Mary Jo Guglielmo said...

I agree with you Karen. I think we waste a lot of time without realizing it. Tracking time is a useful tool, but takes discipline--something also difficult to incorporate into ones life.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson said...

Mary Jo, I never suffer from writer's block but I do suffer from promotion addiction.

Best,

Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Excited about how much the new edition of the Frugal Book Promoter (expanded! updated!) can help writers with the tried and true and the new media, too. Now a USA Book News award-winner in its own right (www.budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo) it the original edition was also a Reader Views winner and an Irwin Award winner.

Shirley Corder said...

Thanks Mary Jo. I am struggling right now with the need to drop some "writing stuff" and get on with "real writing" but oh dear - as Karen says, time seems to go past SO fast. It seems the more time savers we introduce into our lives, the more time they eat up!

Mary Jo Guglielmo said...

I think most writers have the opposite problem. They don't promote their work. They need your book!

Mary Jo Guglielmo said...

I think it's a common problem. I think when the project that our heart is calling us to write seems too big, we avoid it by working on writing that is not as important to us.

Debbie A Byrne said...

Why am I writing? Learn something new, work my braincells, make money, resolve issues, say how I feel, have fun.

Mary Jo Guglielmo said...

Debbie, Great reason to write!

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