Writing

Writing for money is a lot like prostitution, it's mostly just a pain in the ass.

Unless of course you self publish and then most of the time you don't sell any and then your mother and Aunt brag about the book you wrote even though you didn't really sell any.

So, I believe most of the real satisfaction from being a writer is the truth that can come out of you when you write when it is not for money. Because money always corrupts everyone's writing and as a result all writing for money must be suspected at least of not being the truth. Whenever you write by committee which is what most writing for money usually winds up being, truth and spontaneity  is usually lost in the process. Though some writers develop various techniques to mitigate these problems most writers do not.

So, in the end I'm very grateful that I can just sleep in one morning and wake up from some amazing vision or dream and start writing, often feeling that I have been talking to God recently(as in moments before). I find the best stuff that flows through my fingers on the keyboard comes just after naturally waking up without an alarm. And then once something great starts coming(after talking to God in my dreams then (often I will be woken up in the middle of the night and have to write more until God is finished with me writing). Recently this happened to me and I was really tired for two days afterwards because it took a lot of energy to stay focused and to do a good job. So, good writing is a lot like a love affair with God. But as human beings it is hard to maintain that sort of thing every day without eventually collapsing in a heap in the corner like you might have with a college girlfriend eventually from being just too young and too in love.

So, at least for me, writing can be like a love affair. And the nicest thing about it is that you can read about this affair every time you re-read it in the future.

I can remember being into writing poetry and songs about love and God in my teens and early twenties. I found the best lyrics and songs came spontaneously and usually there wasn't any editing needed at all. I find the same now is true(once I developed the right kind of attitude and skills). So, I always know when I'm really going to like something I have written by just how incredibly easy it flows.

However, it is good to remember that if other people are reading what you write that they need some common thread to keep their interest going as well. So, if your writing is just too eccentric and different than their life experiences then they won't be interested in reading it no matter how good it really is.

So, why are you writing? Are you writing for yourself first? In my case I write to heal myself and secondly to heal others. Because often one person's truth leads to another person's revelation in their own lives. I used to counsel people in college and tried my hand at suicide counseling and usually had a pretty good knack at it because very recently or even while I was counseling others I often had suicidal feelings myself. So, at the time I thought if I could save others I could save myself as well. So, when my first child, a son, was born when I was 26 I had a very good reason to stay alive. So I did. By my 30s life was pretty good and it didn't get that bad again until my late 30s and early 40s. But by then I was a complete grown up and wasn't as self centered as I had been in my late teens and early twenties. So there was no danger at all of my taking my life then as I had children to raise and many many responsibilities. The same is true now.

So now that I am retired writing is a way to feel alive and to speak about what my heart feels about life and what I feel in my spirit and my concerns about the real world and our nation. So, once again why are you writing? I don't need the answer. You do.