Having recently completed the first stages of my (paperback)
book launch party (Knight Out On The Town Tour) which ran through most of June,
I’ve been thinking a bit about why we, as writers, do what we do.
Of course there’s the old “I could never *not* write”. That
may be true for some, but I personally don’t subscribe to this theory. While I like to
write stories, I don’t think my head would explode if I never wrote another
line. [Note: if I do attempt this experiment I’ll be sure to warn you, in case
of exploding heads…]
But I think primarily we writers do what we do because we
are the tellers of stories, to those who would listen. We write for our
readers. We write to entertain them, or inform them, or to present a new way of
looking at the world.
Granted there are some among our ranks who only write for
their own pleasure and edification, or because they have something they need to
get off their chest. Keep in mind I'm speaking in general terms here--not of the writers on this blog, who are professional published authors, but of those who don't DO anything with their work. Because—and here’s the big difference--they never share that
work. Whereas the majority of us—the 99%, if you will—write our tales with an
audience in mind. There’s a sense of community there, stretching back to the days
of the prehistoric cave men (and cave women, let’s not forget), that we still
enjoy. Just as the tribal storyteller spun tales which would amuse or alarm or
inform the rest of the tribe, so today we do the same, albeit in electronic or
print fashion. Much easier (and faster) than trying to chisel in all those cave
pictographs.
And I think we writers really want (and need) that sense of
communion with our readers. Where would we be without them? I know darned well
I wrote Traitor Knight in the hopes that people (other than my family
and friends) would read and enjoy the story. Because I thought I had something
entertaining to share with The Audience.
That’s why we’re so thrilled when a new review pops up on
Amazon or Goodreads. Whether good or bad, that review serves to verify that
yes, by gum, somebody read my words. And that’s important. If nobody is reading
what we write, what’s the point? We could accomplish the same thing by shouting
down a well.
I sometimes wonder if these blog posts are like that. Is
anyone—besides the group of us who post here on a regular basis—reading this
stuff? Or are we simply writing for our own amusement? I’m a little afraid it’s
kinda like the SETI project—“Is anyone out there listening?”
I hope you’re listening, and I hope you’ll respond with a
comment.
Keith W. Willis is the author of the award-winning swashbuckling fantasy Traitor Knight. He lives in upstate NY with one wife and no cats. He does not drink coffee, but does consume copious quantities of tea. When he's not busy with his day-job, managing an eclectic group of database content editors, he can be found working diligently to finish Desperate Knights, the second installment of the Knights of Kilbourne saga.
Visit Keith's website at Writing@Knight or follow him on Twitter or Facebook
3 comments:
Keith, I have the same concern. I write blogs and books and wonder who reads them? I hear from people, "I loved such and such book," and I ask them to write a review so others will know that I've written an enjoyable, readable book, but few do. So why do we keep writing? Because we love it and hope we're entertaining a lot of people, even if they don't let us know about it.
If we did not write, we'd eat! We're too old to eat that much. As for exploding heads, yes, please warn us, we'll get out our helmets.
Liked what you had to say. In the end, if writers didn't write, they wouldn't die or fling themselves out the highest first floor window, they'd just be sad and not really know why. Then again, what do we know, we're old and dinosaurs have little brains! *GRIN*
Veronica, we do reviews, send us a book writingteamcw@ gmail.com - no spaces. We're booked for the rest of the year but we'll get it in right after the holidays. Whoops, sorry Keith, invading your blog. Mea Cuppa! PS We only review CBG books.
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