Every week, I write an article for Odyssey. And every week, I share that article. And every week, I get an email encouraging me to share even more. I skim that email every week. I know I need to keep sharing, I know that’s how it works when you write online. But last week, one line in that email caught my eye. It read, “After all, what's the point of writing if no one reads your story?” And I thought about that for a long time. And you know, I don’t like it.
Let me say this. Yes, I want you to read what I write. I want you, my dear reader, to love what I write. I want you to share it with all your friends because you loved it so much, or you thought it was so funny, or you agreed with my point, or it showed you something in a new light. I do want you to read what I write.
But here’s the thing. I don’t write just because I want other people to read my stuff. That’s only a very small part of why I love writing. It’s rewarding when I hit a new personal record for social media shares, because it means I reached more people than ever before. But those pieces are usually pieces that I’m proud of for other reasons.
Saying that the point of writing is to have others read it, is like saying you’re not a writer unless other people are reading what you’ve written. Tell that to Emily Dickinson. One writer, whom I happen to admire very much, wrote in her column that “You are a writer because you write.” (That link, while it is my favorite essay, does contain strong language.)
Think about that with me for just a second. You are a writer because you write. I am a writer because I write. You do not make me a writer when you read my articles. Presenting an essay at a conference, and having that essay nominated for an award, did not make me a writer. I am a writer because of the work I put into that essay.
The act of struggling to find the right words, and sometimes failing, is what makes me a writer.
Finding a way to share my thoughts with you every week in these articles makes me a writer.
Learning from other writers makes me a writer.
That writer I linked to above is Cheryl Strayed. Before I came to college, I had never heard of her, let alone the creative nonfiction genre that she writes in. I have a great professor to thank for that. I didn’t think that writing, as much as I liked it, would get me anywhere when I first walked into freshman composition. A very encouraging professor, and writer, taught me otherwise. That essay was the one she shared with us on our final day of class. Within a year, I’d changed my major to writing and I was charging full speed ahead toward my dreams.
Yes, writing is hard. Being published is hard. Throwing your hard work into the void of the Internet can be heart breaking. Waiting for someone to notice the talent you’ve spent a lot of time and effort honing can feel like a fruitless endeavor.
That’s why you’ve got to stop listening. Yeah, it feels great when someone reads your work. But you’ve got to stop letting it get you down when they don’t. You’ve got to keep throwing your thoughts on paper, and typing up your poems, and keeping them in folders. Love them. Nurture them. They are yours and yours alone.
I like to think that lots of great writers realized this at some point. I think they wrote what they wanted to, even it meant no one would read it. I like to think it’s that passion that brought them to write the classics, the books we study in school, the Pulitzer Prize winners.
I like to think it’s that passion that will do it for me someday. I’m going to keep writing because I love it. I want you to read what I write. But that doesn’t make me a writer. The truth is, I’m a writer because I write. And I hope you are, too.
