Before the Gutenberg Press, if some Geoffrey Chaucer or Sappho wrote a book, he or she had to be otherwise employed… or independently wealthy. The telling of stories to their immediate circle of peers wouldn’t have been their bread and butter, but just an amusement. And I suppose we are all–writers and non-writers alike–still trying to do this, even today.
With the advent of modern-ish technology and economics came the possibility that a storyteller might actually make a living at the pastime, and the idea of “the writer” was born. Not long after came the question, “Why do writers write?”
I imagine our motivations can be lumped into three major categories:
- Self-Promotion
Some people seem to be born with hubris. They’re convinced they’re so fascinating that the rest of us should devote hours and days to following along in their head with them as they unleash their brilliance.
This class seems to have exploded in the Internet age with influencers, gamers, celebrities, and all manner of shameless self-promoters. Do they have anything noteworthy to say? What difference does that make? Their adoring audience will lap it up: Paris Hilton & Kardashians nowadays, but the mould was long cast by literary wonders of previous ages such as Riley Kennedy and Amanda McKittrick Ros.
A certain amount of hubris is a necessity for every writer, of course. Even those unpublished in their lifetimes, like Franz Kafka, or Emily Dickenson, had to imagine that their words had value. So an active ego is a necessity for any writer. It’s just not a guarantee of good writing.
- Financial
When someone says “so-and-so is a writer” the first thing you might wonder is “how successful are they”? Most of us probably believe there’s something artificial about calling yourself a writer when only thirty people ever read your stuff. But if someone’s writing sells so well that she’s able to quit her day job? Then we all agree, she’s a writer!
But if you look into the most successful authors in history, or the most successful authors in the best-seller lists now, a pattern very quickly emerges. Other than a few outliers, the most published writers all work in genre fiction: thrillers, romance, detective or children’s lit.
Yes, the most published author of all time is William Shakespeare, with 2 billion copies sold. Maybe that’s not so surprising. But the next twenty authors on the Wikipedia list of top selling authors are all genre writers. Not until Paul Coelho, at 350 million copies, does a writer appear who is not working on a formula. Not to say anything against the writers in between. Some of my happiest hours were spent with Harry Potter, Hercule Poirot, or Judd Sackett.
Writers in this category generally don’t aspire to either of the next two categories. For them, the highest goal is telling a good story. Which, you’ve got to assume, is the most common reason to write.
- Change the World
Speaking of which, there is a type of writer whose whole raison d’etre is to change minds. I would propose that Paul Coelho, author of The Alchemist, fits in that category. The next writer who is arguably in this category, after another 25 mercenaries, is CS Lewis. In addition to entertaining children, his books try to cement the Christian faith of his English children readership.
Proseletyzing doesn’t have to be religious, though. It can be political, social, or just plain nefarious. You might put Ayn Rand, L Ron Hubbard, and any number of politicians in this category.
I imagine that this is a less common reason for beginning writers to start off: to inform the world what it is doing wrong, and to urge it to have more of that rare quality of wisdom so replete in… well, in people like the author.
- The Literary Art
This is a funny category. Many readers profess that we recognize the genius of Faulkner, the craft of Hemingway, and the brilliance of Shakespeare. But we prefer to read Danielle Steele or James Patterson. That’s only because we need something light for the beach. Or the commute. Or any other moment of our reading lives.
Few writers make it into this category of “lit-rah-chaw.” Fewer still are able to make a living in it. For every Jonathan Franzen or Herman Hesse out there who actually get to quit their day jobs, there are millions who never sell in those numbers. You’re better off playing the lottery.
If you identify with this category, then you’re in there with me. And the vast majority of us are never going to make money at this stupid gig. But if you think having an unpublished manuscript is sad, I put it to you that it’s sadder to have no manuscript at all. Because surely, it’s an inherent good to learn how to express ourselves in our purest, most creative form.
Regardless of who is reading.