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[audio:http://commondatastorage.googleapis.com/authorcartel/Rule%201.4%20-%20core%20motivation.mp3]When did you first dream up the idea of being a writer?
Photo by Christian Gonzalez
I first wanted to become a writer through reading. I remember reading a book that touched me so deeply that, seemingly for the first time, I felt understood, like I wasn’t alone. And then I thought, “Wouldn’t it be amazing to inspire this feeling in others?”
In other words, I originally dreamed of being a writer to connect deeply with another person.
I think most people become writers for a similar reason. We want to connect, to take a feeling or an idea that’s inside of us, and share it with another person. To somehow pass along that feeling of, “Oh, I’m not alone. You’re like me.”
But soon, that pure motivation is forgotten. You talk about your dream with others, and their concerns about your future begin to cloud that desire to connect. You start to have fears and false motivations that cloud your reasoning, things like:
1. Skepticism: How are you going to make a living at writing?
2. Vanity: What if writing could make you famous?
3. Pride: I’m a much better writer than Stephenie Meyer.
4. Fear: What if I’m rejected?
5. Doubt: No one is going to read my writing anyway. What’s the point?
And soon, that original desire to connect becomes distorted.
The False Fantasy of Fame
Of these distortions, the desire for fame skews the purity of our connection the most. Think about fame for a moment. Why is it so alluring?
Who doesn’t want to be known and loved? What’s wrong with being loved by thousands, even millions?
I love what Amanda Palmer says in her February TED talk:
For most of human history, artists have been part of the community. Connectors and openers, not untouchable stars. Celebrity is about a lot of people loving you from a distance. But the internet—and the content we’re freely able to share on it—is about taking it back. It’s about a few people loving you up close, and about those people being enough.
This is hard but important: It is unlikely that any of us will ever be bestselling authors. We won’t be household names like J.K. Rowling or Stephen King or Ernest Hemingway or (depending on the household) Virginia Woolf.
You will not be famous. I’m sorry, but you need to hear this.
It’s actually a good thing. I’ve talked to movie stars and bestselling authors, and they have the same insecurities you and I do except more people hate them. The best writers in the world are often terrified, sometimes paralyzingly so.
Fame doesn’t make things better. Fame makes them worse.
Instead, all you need is a few people to love you up close. You may not be famous to everyone, but you could be famous to a few. Would that be enough? Would you be satisfied with that?
You might not have a crowd, but you could have a Cartel.
Would you be satisfied with a few people loving you up close? Why? Why not? Share your answer in the comments below.
Afterward, you can move on to the next lesson.
I think I’m a Dream Big, Start Small kind of person. I don’t know that I’ll ever be satisfied with any achievement, nor do I want to be, because once I say, “There, that’s good enough,” then I’ll stop trying to reach for more. I’d like to touch the lives of more than just my family and friends. I’d like my words to move people. If, at the end of my life, I’ve reached and moved a cartel, then I’ll be satisfied. But I don’t want to claim satisfaction with that at the beginning of my journey.
I love that, Staci.
Heavens, fame? Quite honestly, I don’t think that really interests me. I wish I could do all my writing incognito, but it doesn’t look as if it will be possible/realistic for various reasons that I’ve been made to understand.
I want my words to reach people and touch them. But I also want to be able to continue to live my life without the interference of recognition and fame.
Me too, Mirel.
For me, it’s having someone read something I’ve written and to not feel so alone. If I think about fame it’s in the context of being recognized by other writers. I have had a small taste of that and I love it. Immediately after, I feel like I don’t deserve it.
That sounds so familiar. I started writing because I was in a town where I didn’t want to live and didn’t know anyone and wanted to have the possibility of connecting to others through writing. The challenge I’m having is to find people outside of my tiny circle to connect with, with the internet so vast and the publishing world so volatile.
Keep the faith – you deserve the recognition!
I enjoy writing, and enjoy it when someone else enjoys what I write. I don’t necessarily want to be loved, but do like to make others happy. The idea of fame terrifies me, not that there is any likelihood of that at this stage. So my main motivation is to satisfy myself and a few others. Oh, and maybe make a little money at it also!
Trying to write a response to this makes me think a little harder about what I’m doing, writing for other people. I’ve mostly written because I felt compelled to do it. It feeds my soul, and making my writing interesting to others challenges me in many ways. I love that challenge.
I’m only beginning to realize what it will mean to have other people read my fiction, let alone add fame to the picture. I just hope that I can touch a few hearts, entertain a few people, and perhaps affect just a little the way they see the world.
Good for you! I think that’s a great attitude.
Yes, I would be satisfied with a few, close, deep relationships! Absolutely. I’d rather have a few people I can count on–and they can count on me–rather than ten thousand followers on [insert name of social media network here]. Forget the red carpet and flashing bulbs. Fame leads to misinterpretation and other problems I don’t want to deal with.
Example: Back in the day when I used to use FB, I did a social experiment of my own. One year for my birthday I displayed my birthday as viewable. I received several dozen greetings on my wall all throughout the day of my birthday. A few months later, I made my birthday private, so the next year, *only* the people who actively remembered my birthday gave me greetings, mostly in person or on the phone.
I’d rather have the phone call or card in the mail than some message on some hard drive viewable by a browser. (And, for those I wish birthday greetings to, I do the same for them: give a phone call, or sometimes record a voice greeting and email it to them.)
Great story, Ryan. Birthday’s are times when you can be “famous” for a day. This might sound strange, but it’s almost always one of the worst days of the year for me. Not because I’m depressed about getting older, but because I’m so self-focused. You’re always happier when you’re trying to meet the needs of others than your own.
You know I recently wrote a daily blog on my efforts to quit smoking. I received emails from two people in particular, one of which was also going through nicotine cold turkey and the other was a long suffering alcoholic fighting his addiction. Both these people had been recommended my blog and had enjoyed it thoroughly, even taking strength and guidance from it. This was possibly the best feeling I have ever had. To think that something I had wrote actually inspired a total stranger.
So in answer to the question, yes, it would mean an awful lot to me to have some close readers who really connect with me.
Isn’t that the best feeling? Moments like that become addictive.
I don’t like having attention on myself, so I’m not terribly interested in fame. I would definitely be more interested in the few. Although, I wouldn’t be against my novels turning into a TV series. 🙂
Ha! That would be cool. Unless you get a producer that ruins your story.
Yes, I always have been satisfied with a few followers, the big frog in a little pond is not all bad, but having said that, I would not mind mt waves crashing out beyond the banks of my pond from time to time……jlw
Ha! Yes, I know what you mean. Small and comfortable but able to have wider influence when you want to?
When I dig for what my writing motivation has been, it comes from my heart, my soul, those parts of me that wishes to share who and what has influenced my life. I have a large family who have expressed interest in family history and my life experiences. I hope my writing inspires and entertains them and others. Earning a few bucks, an award, and some local recognition, has been rewarding, It’s too late for fame for me, and that was never my motivation.
I love the idea of making meaningful connections with people which automatically narrows the numbers. I started a blog in 2009 and am slowly and steadily building my subscriber list. I value the level of engagement via comments and sharing of posts vs the numbers. I know there’s always more I can be doing to attract readers. I try to do what I can to keep moving forward, i.e taking this course! Being “famous” is not an expectation or incentive; connecting with like-minded people, one person at a time, is.
Yeah. I love that. Thanks for sharing your perspective Kathy.
Thanks, Joe. I credit Dan Blank for steering me in the right direction. His next Build Your Author Platform course starts today!
When those few people loving me enough to read my draft (& you know I didn’t breath one breath while they read!) I didn’t even know about self-publishing & online sharing, blogging, etc. You’ve heard me admit – I am old school. I am learning the modern techniques of communication and sharing a vast array of things enjoyed by groups. I’ve never been a groupie & never thought of having a book published as a ‘groupie’ thing but infact once you share your story you are a groupie – so to speak. So I have this wonderful book [draft] & I am passionate about this book. Listening to the pro interview Joe did with Keith Jennings (wow did I learn a lot from that!) I realize passion is not enough- you must be committed and accept the obligation that you have a story and it must be shared. The time comes when your salad herbs outgow indoor pots and you become a real herb gardner which causes you to be ibligated to the health of your herbs – in th writers case – we become obligated to write on our book until it’s full grow and release it to the public. So – I have to make the time to shape this book of mine up and do the right thing bu it. It has already been accepted. So if anyone whosoever on whatever media I post it to doesn;t have a warm & fuzzy feeling toward it – no love wil be lost becasue I have aleady been loved for sharing it (even in its draft form) I am certain once I make the book available to those who already know it it wil lbe shared. My big job now is to get it to the manuscript stage & for that I’ve got to write the chaper Bible studies. i have to adapt a good working schedule for myself. Time! Where does it go?
Yes, I would be happy with a few people loving me up close. They aleady do. As I’ve said before. I shared the draft of my book, Life’s Conflicts – It’s Carnal Causes and Biblical Solutions. Each person encouraged me to get that book into the book stores. But life as it is – just has it’s own way of interferring- and I let it but I hope that down turn is over and i can move forward to ettingmy few people loving me up close. I’m fine with the reality that I may not smash the book market wide open AND then again it could happen – No one knows but the future himself. Onward we go- where are my few- I’m looking for them.
The important thing is that you’re sharing, Melissa, and that people are responding. You might get it into stores or you might not. The goal isn’t, as you know, to get it into bookstores but to have people connect with the book (and they are!). That’s a huge success. The next step is empowering the people who are fans of the book to share with others.
I would love to have a few people love me up close. It would give me confidence that I have not always had. It would make me feel like I have fulfilled a dream and that I completed something big. I come from a family that did not encourage alot so it would mean alot to have a few people encourage me and enjoy my writing. My husband is very supportive and that has gotten me this far. I just want to know what it would be like to have a few more stand behind me. I have thought about the famous part, and I am not sure I would want that. I think it would be no privacy and I would hate to lose that. I am to a certain extent a shy person and I enjoy my me time.
I don’t mind not being loved, I’m a loner, always have been. Don’t get me wrong, I love people and I talk to them every chance I get. Now, I watch them closely. I watch their habits and their ways of talking. Some people give you a tap when they talk to you. Observing, helps me to be a better writer. I even watch my mind at all times. If people love me fine. I do it for the love of the craft. Every time I visit the library I gasp at all the books; so many authors. Will I join them one day?
Carol (lettuce)
Yes, a few people loving me would be great. I write to heal the past, and to give hope for the future. Today is always a little tricky to deal with.
Do I want to be famous? Not really. Is the idea of becoming a best-selling author appealing? Absolutely. Truthfully, I just want to be me. I think having a few loyal readers is much better than having an army of followers. In our society, those who obtain stardom usually fade in a few years and thus their fans desert them. It’s much better to have loyal, committed friendships/readers.
The writing bug has always been withing me, hidden and waiting its chance to come out and be seen. It drives me like a jockey, whipping his horse. I have a need to be creative. My canvas and brushes lie still while my computer lights blink, the keyboard clatters and the modem flutters its eyelids. The computer says to the half finished painting, ‘She has another love now…blink blink.’
Carol
I would be perfectly fine with a cartel. With a few people loving me up close. I want my writing to change people’s lives as they knew it. That after they’ve read my story they go on living and every once in a while they think about my character or something that happened in my plot.
If I am being honest with myself, I want more than a few fans. I want a great many people to read my books. But more specifically I want a great many people to read my books and for ALL of those people to LOVE my books. And that is not going to happen. For anyone. So I can say this, as I say of every aspect of my life these days: I want enough. I don’t know what that means, as it varies from subject to subject, and in this case in particular I really don’t know what “enough” would be, but I want for there to be people I don’t know whose lives have been moved by my books. I want this for me. I want this for them. But I think the core, moral compass, of this entire desire for me is that I want this for these stories. I want to write stories that will permeate throughout, maybe not society, but a well of people. Stories that will change many lives and through those changed lives go on to change more lives still. Maybe that would be enough. I certainly hope so. I am not a fan of excess.
Me too, me too, me too!
This topic gets complicated for me because my background is theater, where you have the audience right in front of you telling you exactly what they thought of your work – and sometimes it isn’t just a few people, it’s a lot of very noisy, happy folks. Bringing the experience of creating characters inward after so many years on stage has been fulfilling and totally disorienting: uh, where’s the audience, and how do I know if what I’m doing is any good?
It’s not so much about being famous for me. It’s about knowing that I’m connected to an audience of any size who likes what I do and who I’d like to write more for. Don’t know if that’s selfish …
Exactly. That’s not selfish. It’s what it’s all about.
I had a conversation not long ago with my partner regarding whether being published was required to feel validated as a writer, or whether I could be “happy” writing stories for the fun of it, the process, and the learning of the craft, and sharing with my writing group. Of course I had just read about the requirement of “shipping” and thought it was a dumb question. “OF COURSE I want to be published, otherwise, what’s the point,” I responded. I’m not talking best selling novel at this point. Just a short story in a magazine, print or otherwise would have done it for me. That was about a year ago. I haven’t given up on that, but right now at this moment I feel that sharing and being accepted by you-all is enough. Better than enough, actually.
I write because I can’t not, because when I’m writing I go into a space where there’s no tomorrow, no yesterday, no worries, just a now. I do believe that I am in touch with something divine when I’m writing and that something divine, something truthful about love, sinfulness, wanting, forgiveness and redemption, comes through me into the words.
For a long time, the writing was enough. Then one day I woke up and felt that all this truth that was seeping out needed to be read.
And so, now, there’s a difference to my writing. I want more. To write in a way that connects. to share what I’ve been touched by, the love, the wanting, the failure, forgiveness and redemption, our common humanity…
Interesting choice. I’ve never been attracted to fame. I’d rather be anonymous (yes, I’m one of those shy people). I AM satisfied with a few people loving me up close already. They already know me. With social media, I’m re-connecting with people who I used to be close to and are now back in my life again. But my writing goes places that wouldn’t come out in conversations, so I feel I’m taking a big chance telling my stories, especially to those closest to me.
I personally don’t need fame but of course I’d like my work to gain some sort of notoriety but is it necessary or mandatory for me to do my art, no. A few people loving me up close is fine as long as it’s not a copout or an excuse to quit.
Yes I’d prefer to be known and appreciated by a faithful few. I wouldn’t admit this a year ago, but realizing that small can be effective, and at times more effective. You can avoid the extremes that notoriety exposes you to.
Small can be effective. Well said, Sarah.
I’m sure I don’t want to be famous, but I would like my work to become well known and appreciated. Being in the spotlight does not appeal to me, way too much pressure to live under. It would be ideal to have my work and name be famous but I can personally remain anonymous :). Having a few interested, where I can share and receive feedback and learn from others is great.
Good processing, Jody. You’re getting into the idea of a Cartel!
I’d like to be widely read, but without the widespread fame. Having a rich relationship with a few people is preferable in that they would be authentic and we’d have our shared feelings and interests at heart.
It seems to me that if you master an artistic relationship with a few people, you’ll be able to grow your audience, slowly, to a greater size. I’d like to be read widely too, but I think that begins by being read by a few.
I would totally be satisfied with a few people loving me up close because my capacity is limited. If I am trying to “love deeply” too many people, I feel like I would not be spending the time necessary to make those relationships work. It takes time and attention to love up close which limits the number.
Yep. How do you think this looks in your writing?
What comes to mind is my writing would be done with those I love in mind. I’m sure many more would benefit but it would keep my writing grounded in the relationships that are important and meaningful to me.
I don’t remember why I started writing. I’m going to write about that. 🙂
As for fame, I’m pretty happy not being famous. I’d love to know that my book was successful without having people know who I am. Hence, my consideration of pen names. Still not sure.
Lately, thanks to Jeff Goins, I’ve come to the conclusion that the people who relate to me through my books will love me and no one else will. And that’s ok.
That Jeff Goins. Always causing trouble. 😉
Yes, I would be satisfied with a few people loving me up close. I really love people–meeting them, getting to know them, interacting with them. I like knowing my readers and recognizing their names in the comments section. That’s enough for me.
Having a few people loving my work up close. I love this idea, it feels less intimidating. My motivation is to make a difference for my readers, not being famous. In the past before I wrote my book, I used to say “I am already famous”. It helped me to just share, without having to deal with my ego….
I come from journalism. I used to be read by thousands — hundreds of thousands, actually. But what mattered was not the numbers but the impact I might have on lives, usually just a few at a time. Then I went into teaching, where impact does happen up close and much more personally. I found that really satisfying. Both ways.
So, I don’t need fame, don’t want fame, but I do want readers, the more the better. But mostly I want to know I made a difference. Made someone’s day brighter. And that happens a few at a time, up close.
Fame is not my goal. I want to know that after reading a book I’ve written, someone closes it with a smile and thinks it was worth their time. I want the time they spent reading my words to allow them to enjoy their escape from the everyday routine called life.
Well said! I’m with you, Mama!
This sums me up quite nicely. Thanks mama5
My goal is to have the satisfaction of putting together good, readable stories. I won’t lie that seeing my book on the bookshelf of my hometown bookstore would feel pretty good but I don’t need to be famous.
I think this is a hard thing to hear. When I get excited about something I’m writing, and the ideas begin to flow and it seems to work, it’s hard not to have those ideas of fame in the back of my mind. I would like to be able to publish some of my stories and have someone connect with theIt’s hard to think that I might never publish something.
I honestly don’t know if my core motivation has anything to do with other people reading my work. I feel on fire when I write and I can’t get enough of it. Making up stories, changing them, playing with them, then fixing them up, learning more about craft and applying the lessons, is magical and worth every moment spent on them. If I can make some money from this, or entertain and affect another person, that will just add icing on my cake.
I’m more satisfied with making my mark with those around me who know me on a “real” level than to be popular with people who only have some made up image of me.
I am happy when I write something that moves someone in a positive way in their life, and have felt this through connecting with readers through blogging. It is these same readers who encourage me to reach out to more readers and that is where the real satisfaction comes from – knowing you’ve made a difference.
This is tough. My long term goal in writing, aside from writing beautiful and interesting words and characters is to write screenplays. These are already stories that barely get read and they are technically unfinished if not made into a film. I really want to make great work first but I also want an audience to feel the way I do after watching a great story on film. The thing is, if I never sell one piece it will still be so much
(My computer cuts out when leaving comments for some reason) better to have spent a lifetime learning and engaging in the craft of writing than to have not. I believe writing makes us better people.
My goal in writing is mostly based on leaving a legacy, but if that legacy means that it only influences a few people, then i’m ok with that, but dying without having changed something would be a very wrong thing.
I feel the same, Patrick. Great answer.
I don’t need anyone to read my writing to be satisfied. If I like it, I believe in it, I found value in expressing myself, dumping my soul into a few pages, who cares if no one reads it? I’ve decided I’m going to write this book, and maybe write another, and another, and now some short stories, too. I hope that if the messages that are in my writing can change people, affect people, or move people that they find their way out into the world. Fame is but a side-effect of writing. Anytime I see one of those 5 particular beastly motivations crowding my better judgment, I wreck it.
One should not think himself or his writing better than another’s, nor should one think that his writing is worthless. Instead, the writer should believe in himself and support others to do the same.
I can see how driven and focused you are in your writing, James. I agree with you. It doesn’t do anyone any favours if you belittle other writers. Self-belief is the key. People who believe in themselves believe in others. No man is an island. (Bob Marley)
It’s hard to comment after James, since he always seems to say what I’m thinking. Fame isn’t important to me. Like you mentioned, fame comes with a lot of problems (more people who hate your work, for instance). I would just like to make a decent living off writing and to share my work with more people someday.
I love to write. It makes me happy and even if no one ever sees the work, I enjoy doing it. But I do have a few friends who I share my work with and having those few people help improve my writing is great. To expand those few people into more writer-minded individuals would be very useful.
Kim, you’re right. Fame is no motivation. Not unless you want to be chased by the tabloids, and photographed because you went to the cornershop in a jumpsuit.
Writing makes me happy too. There are audiences out there, we just need to work out the best way to reach them. Keep sharing your stories, and I’ll be looking out for them.
I’m on a journey of discovery here. I started to write a novel last year – it is something I have thought about now and then throughout my life. They say there is a novel inside every one of us. And then I thought, maybe the novel will be good enough to sell, maybe it will even sell well and make me famous. But then, as I began to write I fell in love with the actual process – the characters, the plot, the wonderful way you can use words – and a whole new world opened up to me. Now I have started writing exercises for the Cartel, and that alone has given me great pleasure – even if nobody reads my stories. I am learning so much as I journey on and discover more of this wonderful craft of writing.
Andy, I love that you put that you’re on a journey of discovery. It’s great to hear of someone who can write with such passion. I look forward to reading your stories, and to sharing your journey!
I think if I want to have my work affect others it makes sense that I would want to one day be a best selling author for this reason. Wouldn’t it be affecting even more people?? I do have some people who love me up close and believe me it is really important. Actually, I have seen that when someone’s work gets big they no longer have the time to spend with the few people up close who love him/her. Now that’s really scary.
“I want to have my work affect others”. Great motivation, Anne. I think you’ve very much got your priorities in life right. You have such strong opinions. I look forward to reading your stories on this course.
Katie,
Yes, I do have strong opinions. And that’s okay as long as I leave room for others to also have their own opinions. Sometimes that’s a challenge.
Sharing my stories is very much my motivation at this point. By doing this, I’m finding inspiration, I’m connecting with people, and forming friendships.
My goal is to be a full-time writer with access to a wider audience. It is more important for me to be known as a professional writer than it is to be famous per se.
I’ve enrolled on this course in order to better understand the steps I need to take in order to reach this goal. The great thing about taking this course, is knowing that I’m not doing this alone.
What if you were a full time writer but had to write things you weren’t very passionate about? Would you be content with that?
What sorts of full time writing are you talking about Joe? If you’re happy to give examples, it will be easier for me to provide an answer. Much appreciated.
So I make a full time living writing, but most of it comes from writing business books and self-help stuff. I’d rather be writing fiction, but writing non-fiction is how I pay the bills. And most of the full-time writers I know have to take projects like this, that they aren’t necessarily passionate about but which they have to do to make a living. Does that make sense?
Thanks for such a prompt and informative response.
I’d very much like to make a living from writing, even if it didn’t mean doing what I enjoy the most. I’ve been researching magazines to see if there was a market I could write for. It’s very much work in progress.
I think what you do with the Write Practice is very worthwhile. I guess it’s all about having a positive attitude. I always aim to make the best of whatever I do. Life is very much what you make of it.
P S I’d like to read your short stories 🙂
Have you got experience of writing things that you weren’t passionate about?
I don’t really care if I’m famous. I’d rather not be famous if it means fearing for my or my family’s safety or any of the negatives that come along with fame. My driving force is trying to make a contribution to my family’s income while doing something I love vs. my current job which can be very demanding.
Plus, I feel like there are people who are looking for my type of stories. These stories wrote themselves and revealed themselves to me for a reason, and I do believe it’s because they need to be heard. If the audience is 5 people or 5 million, who cares?
My husband cares, of course. But, in the end, money and fame aren’t the chief reasons.
For some reason, I’ve always wanted to avoid being famous. So, No problemo.
Now, respected. Even, highly respected. That is my addictive substance. Most of the time that desire helps me. Sometimes, however, it keeps me on a seemingly safe path.
Luckily, the way my life works generally boots me off the safe path and back into the soup, where I start searching around again for the skills and best practices to lift me up towards being respected.
In terms of being a writer, it comes down to skill, which comes down to doing, and learning, then doing some more, then learning, doing, learning, doing….
I have no wish to be famous.It would be lovely if something I wrote affects someone in a positive way but I am new to this so I will have to see what happens.
Oh yes. I often think of Emily Dickinson’s poem:
“How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!”
Being loved is much more satisfying, but it hinges on being known, and that’s not feasible with a large mass of people.
Thanks for sharing this, Elisabeth. I completely agree!
I have been a musician for most of my life. I grew up in the 60s dreaming of being like Hendrix or Jeff Beck. I worked hard at it. Over the years I had the opportunity to perform before audiences of several thousand people. Yet, most of the time I played for groups of 25 -100. Those were the best gigs. I could connect with real people. And, I could display my love for the music. I haven’t really thought a lot about the Why of writing. It just seems like something that I have to do. To get my thoughts and dreams and ideas out there. So, yeah, sharing is the driving force. If, perhaps, it produces a return, so much the better. But, regardless, I’ve gotta write.
I read a story once about Keith Green, Bob Dylan and a third person who slips my mind,smoking lots of Marijuana up in the Hollywood hills. The funny thing was they were all talking of their craft and conversation slater in life revealed that none of them could quite beliee at the time
oops sorry. But were all thinking ‘I cant believe I’m in the company of Bob or Keith.They loved their craft so much, the rest didn’t matter, it was a consequence of their hard work.
I would be satisfied with a few people loving me up close. Period. 🙂
As I was reading this I was thinking, “This is nice, but I really want to be famous.” Then I stopped and reflected, and realized I don’t want to be famous, I want to be significant. So it doesn’t really matter if the number is huge or small, I want to make a significant difference in somebody’s life.
Mmm.. great distinction, Rena.
This is the best way to describe what I’ve felt about writing. Thanks. 🙂
I don’t want to be famous. On Saturday, I was with my girlfriend in the car and told her I’m likely going to use a pen name if I publish. She didn’t understand the concept and took it as self-doubt and poor self-esteem: that I couldn’t be good enough writing stories as myself. I told her, however, that part of it was just in case the name became famous. First, I’d like it to be a good name, not Benjamin P. Clifton. I want the name to look great on the page. The second reason, though, and this is most important, is I don’t want to be famous. I want to have my life. I want to have a normal job where I may know people on the streets and they may say hi in a cheery manner, but no one else is dying for my autograph. I don’t want to do autograph signings. I understand they’re good for publicity… But Oh well…
I’m satisfied with the few people who love me.
I agree, man. Though I will say “Benjamin P. Clifton” sounds like a pretty rad author name. Just saying.
But I completely resonate with what you’re saying too.
Mmm.. You like it as an author name? That’s a nice thing to read.
Wouldn’t it be too much to have to meet every person on the street?
Ha Ha! It is a good name. But if you were getting asked You could always say while laughing “No,no no, not THAT Benjamin P Clifton”. 🙂
I like it as an author name too!
And I wouldn’t worry too much about the fame thing. The reality is most people don’t know what authors look like. There are very few celebrity authors who have a hard time being out in public. It’s a very different thing than being a movie star where everyone recognizes your face.
I find great fulfillment in writing even if no one else reads it. I think that writing makes me a better person. I would like to make an income doing what I love but I do not want fame. Being in the background is fine with me.
The idea of being famous has been a dirty little tick that has wiggled its way into my head and has been attempting to lay roots for a while.
I don’t want fame, and I completely agree with you, Joe, when you say: “Fame doesn’t make things better. Fame makes them worse.”
I’ve known people who’ve taken to fame appropriately, and I’ve known of those who haven’t. Probably, we can all think of the celebrities whose lives royally suck. Their stories off-screen are mediocre at best, and self-indulgent at worst.
If that is the destination that the fame road leads to, then I want off the train.
I would far rather live my life satisfied by a few people loving my stuff than millions who merely love the idea of me. Only the few can really know who I am anyway.
That’s where a pen name enters the equation;)
I wrote a poem in 10th grade English. I really still feel it was good, but my teacher (a journalism teacher) ignored it, resulting in a years-long feeling of insecurity and embarrassment that I had ever thought I could write. I tore the poem to shreds (wish now I hadn’t) and never attempted it again until I was home recovering from an illness at at age 33. Took a children’s literature course by mail and caught the “writing bug.” I haven’t met my long-term goal of being an established writer, but I am satisfied where I now am. Just wanting to reach greater personal goals. I laugh when people seem awed that I’m a writer. Little do they know I’m more insecure than they are. It must mean something to other people that I had courage to do this, or they wouldn’t react that way. But, I realize they are only momentarily awed. They quickly return to their own interests and focus on their own successes and failures. Love doesn’t come with being published. It comes from having a few people realize you have done your best and appreciating your efforts, regardless of how many books are sold or articles are written. Fame is something I do not crave. I have enough problems with my own brand of infamy within my own personal circle. And I don’t like to be hated.
Be delighted to be loved by a few.
I wouldn’t have a problem with that, but at my age, I think I could handle fame if it came my way! But fame is not my motivation to write a best seller, its something more meaningful – its more to do with wanting to write that well.
Yes! Those people will love me flaws, and all. Who doesn’t have flaws? And I, in turn, will love them. It’s the wonder of sharing stories over a campfire vs. on a stage. Those on stage are very lonely. I pick the campfire.
I am going to be famous!
Well aware of the pitfalls though – and the knowledge it is important to be loved by a few.
I guess being famous to a few would be okay. Í am after self-satisfaction and perhaps to make some people happy with my writing.
I don’t know that I want to be famous. I think that would be overwhelming and might influence the content/ quality of my work.
Mostly, I want to make an impact. I believe that rescued people can rescue other people–that those of us who have come from a hard place have a responsibility to give a hand to those still stuck. If my writing can do that, I’ll be content.
While I wish I could say that I think that just a few people loving me would be great, I know myself a little bit better than that. I always strive for more, in everything that I do. Whether that is a character flaw or a gift that can lead to success is all up to me.
No matter the size of my cartel, I need to remember to keep that one-on-one connection. I need to truly see them and then they will know that they are not alone.
Angie, I’m with you. I always strive to be a better writer and I would like to reach a sizable audience someday. Is that fame? It isn’t fame of the movie star kind, but it’s perhaps more than just touching a few people.
And of course, one on one is crucial. We are nothing without our close friends.
I love this: “I’ve talked to movie stars and bestselling authors, and they have the same insecurities you and I do except more people hate them.”
I’m not looking for fame, although from a distance it might seem like a good thing. I’m looking to write stories good enough to catch peoples’ hearts.
You mean I won’t be the next Alice Walker! Argh! J/k. Honestly, fame has always been attractive to me. As a kid, I dreamed of being a famous singer, actor, dancer, or writer. (I was secretly ambitious.) As an adult, I’ve dreamed of being a famous author. I don’t know why that’s been so important to me, but I can see how it might be stifling my growth as an artist.
Have a few people love me up close? Hmm. That’s a new concept. And it actually sounds pretty good. 🙂
I love this. Connecting with a few people “up close”. That is the sweet spot, isn’t it?
I actually began writing because I have this really big need to label my feelings. Too often I’ve said, “Man, I wonder if I’m the only one who feels like this is wrong/unfair/cool/annoying….” After morbid introspection and a listening to a lot of angry music, I remember my mom suggested I write things down instead of internalize them. My thoughts often came out as a blob of anger, humor, and random observations, but at the end, I felt like someone heard and I was lighter.
I had a teacher in high school change my life with my creative writing class because he encouraged us to discover stories rather than write them. Discovering stories involved intimately knowing our characters and letting THEM write the story. In making characters first and then have the character tell the story, I discovered parts of myself I never knew I had. I created characters that were conservative, hippie-like, perverse, reverent, and everything in between. It was almost like I was giving myself permission to be free.
This is not to say that every character I dream up “is me”. Rather, perhaps the characters helped me discover a part of me that I was afraid of, or a part that I lost.
In short, writing helps me conquer my fears and answers questions about my feelings I’m fearful to talk about.
I’ve already gone through and answered this question the first time I took this course, and my answer, not surprisingly, doesn’t differ much.
While I’m not afraid of fame, I could do without the negatives that come along with. Truthfully, I don’t want the fame. I just want my stories to find their audience, and for that audience to feel strongly for them.
My short answer, is, yes. A few people loving me up close is fine with me!
I’ve answered this before, and some of my answer hasn’t changed. I write because I have to, because it satisfies me. I hope that what I write will someday touch others’ hearts or at least entertain them for a day or two .
I prefer one-on-one connections to that of a crowd, but without some measure of fame I won’t sell many books and I would like to do that. I wouldn’t compromise my writing in order to become famous, but I don’t know that I would shy away from at least a little dose of the magic. Fame can destroy, as so many famous musicians have found, but it also opens up opportunities.
Aren’t we all famous to a small group of people, up close? It’s like a local band that never makes it big, but keeps going. That’d be fine with me. I’m would like to make a living, but I don’t need a Rolls Royce. The thought of big fame is kinda uncomfortable to me. I even have a pen name picked out as an additional cushion – just in case.
Would you be satisfied with a few people loving you up close?
Hell yeah!
I’m all about community building and creating meaningful relationships with people who care about my mission and who enjoy my work.
I do admit that I sometimes dream of the fame, of what it would be like to have a massive following and tons of raving fans buying my collections.
If I can’t have that, that’s fine with me. If I can just have a small audience supporting my work and maybe attending poetry readings I’d conduct, that would mean the world to me.
“A few people loving you up close.” I don’t know about up close, as I’ve developed friendships with writers from at least four continents!
On a more serious note though, for years I didn’t share my writing with anyone, so it’s great to think that my writing may touch even a handful of people.
That’s what my heart is telling me. However, my head is telling me that I’d also like to gain financially from writing. I guess my ideal situation would be to work freelance on non-fiction projects, with the flexibility to fit in my creative writing. We’ll see…
Yes, a few people loving me up close would be satisfying to me. I am mostly a loner and uncomfortable in a gathering of many many people. At a party, I love to talk in small groups or one on one. I also think that those with many many friends have few close ones-its a matter of time if nothing else. It takes time and shared experiences to be really close. There is this one thing we are not talking about-self love. We have to value ourselves first in order to feel up to speaking our minds. For some of us, that is a big leap. But, we have to speak from the heart or sharing is a waste of everybodies time.
Fame, well maybe I’d like to wear it for a while before I totally ruled it out. I wouldn’t mind getting the nicer tables at restaurants.
Seriously though. I have written for years with only a small number of fans and people who support me and that has been totally fine.
As you ask this question Joe – the first image that popped into my mind was a scene from the movie Field of Dreams. The scene is the one where Shoeless Joe tells Ray Kansella how much he loved playing baseball. The smells from the stands, the crowds, the travel on the trains, how it was such a part of him that he would have played for nothing.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xrh66t_in-love-with-baseball-from-field-of-dreams-1989_shortfilms
Writing is like for me. I enjoy it and if things were to stay as they are now, I could probably live with that.
J.L.S
I don’t need fame. In fact, I’ve already experienced a little bit of people, whom I don’t know stopping me in the street to tell me that they are reading my novel. And that is very nice, but my reaction is to tend to be overwhelmingly embarrassed. In other words, it’s not particularly comfortable.
Also in town a restaurant is pushing to have me do a reading and presentation of my novel, but I keep putting it off, because the idea terrifies me. Not that that is fame, but it is exposure to strangers.
I don’t need fame, but I would like income. Some steady incrementally growing income not to live on, but to supplement my fixed income that I do live on.
I so much agree with Joe; when I first dreamt of being a writer at age 10 or 11, I was a crazy precocious kid and would memorize Thomas Mann and William Faulkner’s Nobel Prize speeches and imagine going to Stockholm. I began writing pretty regularly at age 16, several novels, short stories, poetry, etc., but that dream of fame that I held in my head always made me feel I wasn’t good enough, yet. So I never let go until I finally let go of this current novel. I had more than fifty years of practice (at least drafts of some eight novels), workshops, classes from top writers, I even taught Creative Writing at Brown, but still I would never let go. That dream kept choking me. It took me fifty years to finally share something. So share early and realize what will come will come.
Fame. It’s a funny thing. I have thought about it but it is not something I strive toward. My biggest goal with writing is having a creative outlet as well as being able to make some money to help with finances. So yes, I would like people to like my writing enough to buy it but don’t necessarily want fame. Having a few people like my writing would be a dream come true.
I love therefore I am loved. Maybe not by everyone but most assuredly by those who have received my love. The hardest people to love are those who are so close they have lived all of the good and bad, but dwell on the bad. It is harder to love those people but they are family and family is important. I believe strongly that you must love yourself before you can love someone else adequately.
Fame. Yes, when I was younger I wanted to famous. A famous actress primarily, then a famous artist, then of course a famous writer.
Experiencing low level fame isn’t too difficult in my small community, my husband is a well known local artist and I am by association famous as his wife… If I’m truthful it would be nice to be famous in my own right (I do amateur dramatics so do occasionally get my own bit of limelight).
I do fantasize about having a body of work that my peers liked and respected, I have to say that praise from a writer is so much more meaningful than from a non-writer. So yes, famous to a few would be perfectly fine, as long as they were the right few!
Because of the nature of the book I’ve written I would like as people as possible to read my book. But your question was really would I be satisfied with a few people up close loving me.
I have a few people up close loving me. I don’t feel satisfied at times.
I think the exact number of people I need to like my writing is the same number of people that it will take to enable me to make a living as a full time writer.
I don’t need to be a millionaire or on the cover of People. I just need to be comfortable and take care of my family doing something I love.
I would love people to get lost in a story I wrote. Have a connection on some level. But house hold name, fame, that is not something I strive for. I’ve actually thought of writing under a pen name because I am a very private person. I have always lived with stories in my head. I love to write , create and make a connection. Art has been my life, (painter) but a few years ago I wanted to write some of the stories in my soul. One’s that I live with , but their not mine, So here I am . I do it for myself, and if I a cartel will enjoy them or even hate them, I like that they felt something.
Yes. I have three readers who really support me, reading everything I write, and constantly promoting me though I gave them no reason to do it. It means the world.
I think sharing with a few up close is the most important thing. Without that closeness or depth in relationship I think even if the whole world knew who you were you would still be missing something. I think it is enough and the healthiest. But do I at times want a little more icing on the cake? Yes.
I would be satisfied with even a few of you loving my writing. Just hearing someone laugh at something I wrote, or hearing someone say, “Tell me what happens next” is more than enough praise. Heck, I would be happy enough to keep writing if I knew that someday my kids would read my writing and feel proud of me for it.
I want to be content and satisfied what ever happens with my writing and with my life. I am a follower of Christ and I know He loves me. That is enough. If He chooses to take me further in my writing than I could even begin to imagine than I am good with that. If He chooses to let my writing only be known to a few, I am good with that as well. I know He has a plan. My job is to follow. He is the One who can open doors and He is the One who can close doors. I trust Him! Thanks.
Brenda
I think I have a number of motivations for writing.
I think I can live with being loved by a few people, up close.
I still see other goals, as part of building a platform etc. – but they have little to do with writing, and more with public relations (however many, or few, take heed of such things, they are probably still worth pursuing).
Increasingly, lately, I have been thinking about writing less in terms of writing – and more in terms of fiction writing’s roots in oral storytelling.
I started reading a sample of Christopher Booker’s ‘The Seven Basic Plots’ yesterday (while browsing on my Kindle before going to sleep). It certainly made me think! He makes a case for psychological reasons why the same story shapes are told again and again and again.
I think, perhaps, it is more important for me to create stories as a way of considering my own motivations and responses to life than I previously realized. Maybe even my writing them is a means of seeking love or approval of others – and sharing my considerations of the human condition.
Is storytelling really just a way of seeking order and purpose in the world?
A way of creating order – to make ourselves aware that our lives can mean something, and maybe something good?
In answer to the question: Yes, I can live with a small number of people loving my work up close (and maybe loving me, personally, too).
Maybe my motivations are deeper than that, however.
Maybe writing is, for me at least, a kind of heroic quest for purpose and identity in its own right?
If anyone likes my work – of finds it helpful – that will certainly be a bonus. Perhaps numbers of readers are not as imporant to me as I previously thought.
I love what you said, a way to make ourselves aware that our lives can mean something. I think that’s exactly right. The core purpose of stories is to help us see the meaning in our lives (especially when things go wrong).
Also, I really like The Seven Basic Plots. We’ve posted about them pretty extensively over at The Write Practice. You might check them out!