The Reasons For Writing

I have been going through a number of old forum posts lately looking for the reasons some people write stories. It's been much on my mind of late. I came across a posting from a few years ago about Positive or Negative Comments and read all the way through it again. I don't even remember this forum post, but at the time I responded to it and ended my response with "I write for me."

That made me think a while. Do I really just write for my own gratification? I know that if I'm in a mood and want to excite myself, I'll rummage through my archive files for my own stories (usually A Need Fulfilled, Kelli's Grand Plan, and Mrs. Daggett's Spankings Always Hurt) and read them again. So I know that these particular stories of mine were written by me and for me, but I have enjoyed reading the comments on them and do appreciate that others like the stories as much as I do. So, in the end, am I writing because I want to hear the praise from others or am I writing because I like the subject and just want to get my thoughts out onto paper (ok, cyber-paper)? A little of both, probably. We all like our egos stroked and if I happen to be writing about a particular kink of my own that will be unpopular, I am not bothered when others criticize the subject matter because I know that not everyone shares the same tastes.

I have had a few people ask me to write about a particular type of spanking and I've done it on occasion. But the story has to actually interest me, as I've discovered. A couple of years ago, in the chatroom, someone asked me if I'd write a story about X subject matter using Y implements and, being full of myself, I said, "no problem, consider it done." It's not done. It's nowhere near done. It's barely even started. I wrote one single page and was thoroughly bored with the whole thing. It just didn't excite me at all. So I set it aside and moved on to other things. Then I went back, after a month or so (and having this person ask me a couple of times if I had finished it yet), and re-read my single page. I think I added, oh, two paragraphs or so and got bored again. I don't judge this person on their particular kink. I have enough of my own quirks that I'd be the last one who could judge, but what this person liked just didn't perk up my interest one tiny bit. It's still at the Page + 2 Paragraphs stage on my hard drive and it will still be at that stage two years from today. So I guess I have to be writing for myself since I certainly can't write for this person.

So to throw it open to the group: Who are you writing for?

Arcane,

I think I get your point on writing this post. I fully agree. It's the negative comments that come from those who are reading MY stories that make me think twice about why I write them the way I do. I posted here one time about my 'Darker Side' and received some good comebacks. I've received a few comments that didn't quite ring a bell with some readers. I've sent a few of the same. One of them YES was yours. I'll leave it at that.

You can't please everyone. Some people will read this type of story and say, "Where the hell did this person come up with this?" (to themselves of course) For me it's just the way I feel about what REALLY happens to some people or person in everyday life. Vengeance Is Mine Sayeth Mary (one of mine) is not really for the squeamish. Humiliation Factor - Michelle (one of mine) is another. The comments I received (neg or pos) were right on target for the way THAT particular reader felt. Some even said it's too much like reality (in a way). Well, that was my whole point. There are truly abused and neglected people out there.

My comments are usually upbeat and genuine. I don't give lip service. If it's really a great story I say so, and not just to stroke an author's ego as you say. I've said this before and I'll say it again. If you can make a reader angry or sad (to the point of crying) with a story, you've done your job. It's the mark of a good writer. You my friend are a good writer. Dialogue, Descriptive Data, Narration: Everything is in its place in your stories. I believe I can speak for a lot of Readers/Authors here when I say that.

Even if you write for yourself, you post it, you share it, with everyone at the LSF. This of course is going to draw comments either neg or pos. Stand by what you write. As long as it's within the guidelines set down by the LSF Administration, it's fair game out there for everyone who reads and comments.

You write well my friend. Keep at it.

Pat aka Bendover

One of the best comments on writing came from a published author on Twitter and it went like this: some people are going to love what you do and others are going to hate it. I think she was trying to say that you need to take the good with the bad. Here I do write what I like, actually I always write what I like. I kind of figure that if I do, someone else will. I find that's the best way to be. The other thing is if I don't like what I'm writing it's going to show through and will wind up being a not very good piece. As to why do I write? Because I can't not write. I've been writing since I was about 6 years old, I simply cannot not write. It's like asking me to stop breathing.

I write for myself though currently it's mainly non-spanking fiction. Good or Bad comments are nice, we each have our own tastes, but I don't yearn after them like I've seen a few new authors on other forums do.

The only thing I didn't like and had to take seriously was two death threats. Of course those just made me wnat to write even more.

I write, not just to expand my mind and clarify what I believe & how I think, but to expand the reader's mind & concepts & ideas as well.

At the risk of some shameless self-plugging, may I perhaps draw your attention to my WRW article: Do we really write only for ourselves? Volume 1; Issue 2

At the risk of repeating myself, (I'm sure we have discussed this before) I write spanking stories because they turn me on. It is the equivalent for me of watching a porn movie or reading a dirty mag, I guess. The very act of writing words like 'spanking' and 'bare bottom' makes me horny. I have written spanking scenes for as long as i can remember. Submitting them to the library strokes my ego, if I'm honest. Good or bad comments mean that someone has read them and cares enough to respond. I write what works for me - end of! But if the results then make one or two other people have butterflies or smile it's a great bonus.

This is true for me as well, but there's more to it. I also want to practice my skills as a writer, and I hope to get validation from other people who enjoy my work. So, while I'm the target audience of my own stories, I wouldn't say that I write -purely- for my own sake.

At first I wrote for me. I found it therapeutic. But somewhere along the line someone paid me a compliment about something I wrote and I liked that. That was when I began to write to entertain others. I'm a natural entertainer, I think, and I adopted storytelling as my main vehicle. So if a thought strikes me that I have an entertaining story to tell, I put it into words.
Now my focus has shifted. Amazon changed the game when it created the Kindle and its self publishing platform, KDP. So now I'm my own publisher and writing is a part time job. Sorry, but I don't publish through LSF. You have to look for me by my author name, Rollin Hand. I have 31 books "in print" and more on the way. That's long journey from where I started 14 years ago, but it's been satisfying on many levels. I just hope I can continue to improve my writing skills and keep entertaining folks.

I read your article, Linda, and all of the comments. It sums up the topic very nicely.

I always wanted to write, but never thought I could do it. I started writing stories just to share with a friend, never expecting to make them public. Writing was easier than I expected and I wondered why I had procrastinated so long before trying. I just needed someone to push me into the deep end, I suppose. I loved it, and I still do. I like taking a germ of an idea and building a story around it, bringing characters to life, trying to make a plot flow. It is more of a challenge to myself than anything, but it brings an added dimension of pleasure to share the process and/or the product with others. And, if just ten people read a story, then ten more have read it than would have if it were sitting in my computer.

I am so thankful for this community where I can share what I have written and get honest feedback. One thing I noticed in the responses to the WRW article was the feeling by some that it is better to critique the mechanics than the story. I think just the opposite. The story is a temporary thing, and I welcome opinions about what worked and didn't work, realizing that not everyone likes the same thing. My style is what it is, and not likely to change significantly based on comments. My skill as a writer (if you could call it that) is evolving, and I can see a big difference today from my early stories. Some of those make me cringe. That said, I love any kind of comment - the good, the bad, and the ugly.