Writing to please

I truly believe that if you write for your own pleasure, you have only yourself to please...if you write to please others, then you’ll please no one.  You end up taking criticism of your writing quite personally, when the energy can be much better spent creating something new to please you. 

 

I write what I write because it pleases me to do so – it’s therapy...I don’t feel vulnerable at all – quite the opposite actually – I feel liberated.  The fact that others enjoy my poems or stories is just an added bonus - that I've lit up a moment in their day is even more gratifying.  And so the cycle continues.

 

I'm reminded of a story that I heard yesterday...This guy loved to play baseball when he was a kid.  The game was about fun.  He played and practiced and became pro.  Then the game became about winning - it wasn't so fun anymore.  The guy lost his reason for playing and ended up losing the game.  When he thought back to his childhood and how he just played for the love of playing baseball, he changed his mindset...and he had fun again...and his team started to win again. 

 

It's not about winning - it's about doing what you love to do just for the love of it.  The rest will fall into place.