Do you write what you want or what others want?

[ashes]

Hey! The title of this topic says it all really. I'd just like to know if anyone here writes about things that they want to write about, or things that they think people will like.

I normally write things I like writing, and if online communities like it then that's fantastic but if not then that's okay too, because I know I'd rather write things that I like writing rather than something I don't.

[moderntimes]

Well, of course we'd rather write about things we're interested in. Goes without saying.

Sometimes you can't choose -- when working for, say, a newspaper you'll get assigned stories and by golly you better write that subject and do a good job, even if you're tasked with making a boring city council meeting sound interesting.

But writing for your own wishes, naturally you select the subjects that most interest you or genres about which you care most. It's obvious that by doing so, you'll write better stuff that is more likely to sell. Makes perfect sense.

So I gotta ask -- when posing such an obvious question, have you been asked to write about something that you're not much into? Or what? Thanks.

[DATo]

I write for my own enjoyment. If my work is appreciated by others then that is a bonus for which I am very grateful.

[KS Crooks]

How would you go about finding out what stories other people want to read. Would you limit it to people you know or put out some type of poll or survey and go with whatever scores the highest?

[kateuan]

I'm a Italian writer and this is my first post. I have difficulty to write in english, but I try. I write only what I want, knowing that Italian people are not very good reader and generally don't like classic thriller as I like and write. It's normal about that I sell few copies of my books, but it is not important for me, I really do what I like. Sorry for my bad English !!

[zeldas_lullaby]

I write what I want. If I were to "sell-out," so to speak, I'd write an angsty YA book about a heroine who feels that no one understands her. Oh, and she has a supernatural/psychic ability, but instead of appreciating it, she feels like a freak because of it. Oh, and she meets a guy and they fall in love within two days, even though he's a letch. (But he's really good looking, and he smells like "boy!") Oh, and there are snobby bee-yatches at her school and hunky jocks with bad attitudes. Oh, and she has to figure out which student is the psycho killer, but she only uses her psychic powers, like, one time in the whole book. Oh, and the ending is entirely unbelievable--just thrown in there because someone had to be the bad guy.

Huh. Thanks for asking that question--apparently I needed to blow off some steam.

[moderntimes]

I write for my own enjoyment. If my work is appreciated by others then that is a bonus for which I am very grateful.

Which is fine. I enjoy writing myself, otherwise I wouldn't do it. And yes, my friends appreciate my writing too, but that's pretty much to be expected.

Question is, does your "bonus" extend to the successful sale of your writing? Does writing what you want to result in the sale of your story or novel or article?

-- 25 Apr 2015, 08:11 --

How would you go about finding out what stories other people want to read. Would you limit it to people you know or put out some type of poll or survey and go with whatever scores the highest?

Polls unnecessary. Just look at the sales of books. The success of a book commercially is the best poll available.

Not that this necessarily makes a best seller a good book. Trash is often popular. Look at 50 Shades.

But as I see it, and yeah, I tend to think more commercially than many here, is that writing just for your own self gratification is like gazing at your own navel. Or maybe playing with a zone slightly below the navel. It's fine to write something about which you're pleased, and that makes perfect sense, because if you're not satisfied with what you've written then revision is the next step. But just being pleased within your own world is not substantive enough.

And as always, when I say "you" I don't mean anyone here individually -- I mean the "group" you.

[DATo]

I write for my own enjoyment. If my work is appreciated by others then that is a bonus for which I am very grateful.

Which is fine. I enjoy writing myself, otherwise I wouldn't do it. And yes, my friends appreciate my writing too, but that's pretty much to be expected.

Question is, does your "bonus" extend to the successful sale of your writing? Does writing what you want to result in the sale of your story or novel or article?

No, I think the real question is whether or not I care if it sells or not. The "bonus" for me, as stated above, is the genuine appreciation of my work by just a few. That is worth far more to me than money. If I had to prostitute my art to appeal to others for the sake of money, as I know myself, I'd quit writing.

[kateuan]

I agree with DATo

[moderntimes]

Understand, DAT, that writing something that sells isn't prostituting yourself necessarily. Let's say someone is an accountant or maybe a chemist. Is that person "selling himself" when he goes to work every day and performs a good job and gets paid for it accordingly? I doubt it. Now if that chemist is asked to falsify results then she would definitely be doing so were she to cheat.

Writing is an art but it's also a craft performed by skilled people. The fact that your writing sells doesn't mean that you've subverted your internal guidelines or are selling yourself on the marketplace. It just means that your work is appreciated by a wider audience than just by a few sycophantic friends.

The money made isn't the issue. I'd have starved long ago if I were to attempt to survive on my article, short story, or novel sales. It scarcely amounts to beer money most times. But I'm still happy to make a sale, if only for a hundred bucks or so. It indicates that my writing is judged good by professionals. I don't think there's any conflict to that. Now if I were to, for example, ghostwrite a book for someone (which I've been asked to do on several occasions and have always said no) and remained in the shadows and let that other person gain accord from what I'd actually done, then yes that would be selling out, or prostituting myself.

I can understand someone who wishes to remain emboldened by a small clique of sycophantic pals who are amazed and delighted by that person's writing. It's safe and secure and a little domain that has its comfy castle walls surrounding. And it's pretty hard to venture forth and write for sale, that is, to write for professional publishing, whether for magazines or newspapers or toward having novels and short stories sold. Because when that writer casts his/her writing upon the greater waves of real life publishing, that effort goes against a large amount of other good writers and the competition is fierce. So sometimes that writer may prefer to remain ensconced in a safe harbor.

As I see it, writing just to please myself is akin to masturbation.

I prefer to branch out and see what I can do on the open, real, and authentic market of actual publishing. It's hard work and I fully admit that it's not always rewarding. I've had 2 screenplays briefly optioned but nothing came of it, lots of short stories or articles rejected, queries replied with the formulaic TBNT. But when I do sell a story or article, when I do sell a novel, it substantiates my wish to be accepted as a "real" writer who gets paid real money (however small) for his work. As I said, I certainly don't make a lot of money and were I to "write for money" I'd have starved long ago. But when I do get paid (maybe a hundred bucks for a short story, 500 or 1000 for a lead article in a national magazine, a nice advance for my novel) I am at least confident that my writing is acceptable and comparable to other writers' efforts on the open market.

[Trishagarg]

I think writer write what exactly he want. He expresses her feelings, emotions and convey the message to the reader what he want.

[moderntimes]

Sometimes writing what you want and what others want happily coincides. And that's when you sell an article or story that you're proud of, and everybody wins. I think that's the goal most writers want to achieve.

Thankfully, the major task of my writing in the last few years has been mystery novels that actually sold. The first 2 were professionally published and although I didn't make a lot of dough, the books were nicely reviewed and liked by the readers (those few who bought the books, ha ha). And now I'm working to sell my 3rd novel, which is complete, and working on the 4th in the series.

Because I love private detective novels, that's the genre I'm writing in mostly. And although PI books are a special small category of mysteries, they are loved by those fans. And happily, I've managed to write something that sold and that I also liked writing. I created a fairly unique private eye, not the tough-guy stereotype but a highly educated and intelligent man who gets deep into trouble. It's also very realistic. What makes me very happy is that my PI novels have indeed been accepted professionally.

So it's a win-win scenario and that's what I hope other writers can experience. Yes we write what we want. Unless for example, as I once did, you're working for a newspaper and you're assigned a boring city council meeting, ha ha. But anyway, if we write what we want and then that writing is sold and published, we're way ahead of the game and even if the money is small, being professionally accepted for something you love to do is great!

[Virtue]

I try to write what I want AND what others want. That way, everyone's happy.

[bibliophile14]

I am part of a online writing class that I pay for. It really has helped me strengthen my writing skills although I do have assignments with specific topics and subjects. However, I keep multiple journals and write regularly on my laptop about things that I am interested in and enjoy. You won't always enjoy writing assignment topics but part of being a strong, good writer is having the ability to write well in any situation.

[faeryfyre]

I write mostly what I want, but I try to have a diverse set of characters so that everyone has at least one person they like!