"I Do Not Like to Write"

   Happy Labor Day weekend to my US readers, and happy regular weekend to my Russian and other international readers! It's been a week since I last posted, not because I didn't have time. I was waiting to have something to say. When I'm looking for something to write about for The Well, one thing I do is look up quotes. And when I look up quotes on writing, more than authors telling what a jolly, wonderful, sparkly time they have putting their thoughts to paper, they tell how difficult or even unpleasant it is. Isn't that strange?

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   I don't know much about Gloria Steinem (feminist, journalist), but most of what I know I disagree with. There is one quote of hers, though, that I like a lot. Steinem said, "I do not like to write - I like to have written."

   Sometimes I wish I had days and days just to be stuck to my story and do nothing but see the world from my character's point of view and watch what happens next. That's rare. More often writing feels like a chore, but I keep doing it because I know once I'm finished and I look back, I'll be happy with what I see.
   What makes it a chore? I think part of the reason is that I know what I write will be read (even if it's only by one other person), so I feel pressure to write something good. I used to write stories completely for myself. I didn't think about showing them to brothers or sisters or friends or parents. There was just something that I wanted to read, so I wrote it (or at least started it). It was like watching a movie where everything that you want to happen happens.
  So my discovery is that even though it sounds selfish, when I write for myself (what I would want to read), I write for others, because that's what other people will enjoy, too. And even though it sounds good, if I write for others (what I think they want to read), I'm writing for myself, cause all I'm trying to do is please people, and that ends up being quite stifling.