What kind of a question was my last post? If not a single person on the planet liked what I wrote that means it's crap and I don't want to write crap. I like Krista's answer--I'm with her. The initial draft I write for me, but with the edits I fix it for the audience. They are the readers. If I want to be published, I MUST have them in mind.
After all, my story would be a gift.
Stories are the perfect gift! :o)
ReplyDeleteDon't you love being a gift giver? Such a great feeling.
ReplyDeleteI like Krista's answer as well. :)
ReplyDeleteWow, thanks! I found the quote: "Self editing is a love story between you and your reader." -Erin Healy
ReplyDeleteThat really made me consider my attitude about editing.
I think you answered both ways for me. ;)
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ReplyDeleteYeah, I had a hard time with that question. Sure, I love to write but if my writing were that bad...
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to be a published writer. For a time in my middle years--30s and 40s, maybe even 50s--I felt a bit guilty wanting to make money writing. But why not? It's a perfectly honorable profession.
ReplyDeleteI have read that writers are the most optimistic of all people on the planet. They have to be, considering the competition, the odds against publication. Considering the odds, do we keep writing because we like to write? Because somehow it's "in" us? For me, both answers are yes. But I want someone to read what I wrote. It's so exciting to write a good story or poem and have it published by a "respectable" magazine or publisher. So I keep trying to hone the craft, enjoying the ride, anxious to see what my characters are going to do next. It's fun. And if I write something I think is pretty good, I'll look for a possible market . . .
Thanks for the validation, all. Ann, you made it!! And, yes, writing IS a perfectly honorable profession. Think of all the *other* things you could do.
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