“Better to write for the self and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.” ~ Cyril Connolly
It never ceases to amaze me how simple it is to get lost in the world of words. How easily we become swayed by others opinions can have an enormous effect on what and when we write. We work so hard to keep our momentum flowing that we become exhausted in the process and dehydrate the well of our writing essence.
Although I still have muddied water in my reservoir of ideas, I have been caught up in the impetus of the WordPress world, as well as other writing competitions, and found myself being pulled in different directions when it comes to the content of my writing. There are no posts that I wish I didn’t write but I’m sure if I read back through some of my earlier posts I would find entries that were written in expressions far removed from the inner voices I contend with on a regular basis – posts written to impress others rather than being written for the sake of writing.
An artist is always unique. Whether a masterpiece is painted on canvas, developed into photographs or has a myriad of materials blended to create a single form, no two depictions of an idea will ever be identical. Each artist has a vision that can only be created by their idiosyncratic brain. I cannot imagine an abstract artist would ever pause to wonder how many people will appreciate their work – they simply have a need to create.
(image courtesy of mayhemandmuse.com)
The same can be said for the art of writing – authors simply feel the need to write. Each wordsmith is encouraged by the ubiquitous string of letters that form into words in their imagination and the story will then develop a life of its own. Writing is an adventure and one that each mind should be free to express on a whim. It should be a journey that begins in our mind and flows through our veins until it reaches our fingertips. It should embody our true creative process and be written for the sole purpose of expressing ourselves. Our creativity should not be stifled by the boundaries of an audience but should be free to shout at top decibel to all who understand our passion.
Writing for self is writing from the heart. This freedom with the written word has no structure, it has no defined audience and it allows us to reach deep within ourselves to convey what lurks behind our conscious mind.
polysyllabic profundities 
The prompts and challenges are nice for inspiration, but it’s too easy to get caught up in them.
And so help me, for me, so many of the challenges just add to the noise level without adding anything.
Too much “writing for the public” I guess.
The challenges were certainly fun and opened me up to a new community of people but I kept missing the train of thought and running after it to get it at the next station!
Words, words, words…I am a slave to them. Good post!
Thank you so much. Hope you are doing well.
Here’s to the ole balance of the heart and mind. : ) Beautiful.
Writing for oneself is fine, but I find that writing for an audience in mind creates discipline and structure. I write humour, though, so there’s a definite rhythm to that, a need for concision (or at least that’s my style), a need to meet the audience’s expectations. That said, sometimes it baffles me what ends up on the page. Like, who wrote that?
I’ve had that feeling a few times.
Great quote! It’s always nice to have others read and even relate to what we’ve written, but that can’t be the sole purpose for the writing.
Thank you….on both accounts!
“…posts written to impress others rather than being written for the sake of writing.”
How true is this in my own life? I think this is so poignant and I will try to be more focused on the writing and words and emotion, instead of impressing a person or persons.