Writing for you

[Valhalla Erikson]

Ever find yourself in a situation where you just want to write either a story or a series of stories but not to publish just for your own enjoyment? Maybe as an escape from the crunching deadline of finishing a book.

Every now and then I do this. I find it pretty useful if I want to find my voice as a writer and improve my writing.

[ScintillaMyntan]

That would probably be good for me, not only to improve my writing but also because I need new daydreams. My current ones are dysfunctional and reinforce unhealthy narratives in my mind. I find it hard to deliberately replace my daydreams with other ones, but maybe writing them would help.

I tried writing a story just for myself exactly once a couple months ago, but stopped after one session. The thing is it felt pretty much indistinguishable from regular serious writing, except that the story premise would probably seem simplistic and childish to someone else. It wasn't really a daydream-type thing though.

[saintofm]

Most of the time its that. I just have an idea, and I want to get it onto paper. However since trying to get a story good enough to publish, doing these short stories for the contests or fan fic has allowed me to practice my skills and work out some ideas that might not work otherwise.

[havekrillwhaletravel]

I've not set publication as a goal for my writing, so I guess all my writing is for me. But I do distinguish between writing that I think can be shown, and writing that I think should best be kept for myself. For me, this decision occurs some time during the writing process. If I stumble upon a "point" - something that girdles the story, gives it direction and purpose, something that makes the story somewhat relatable to some people - then I might consider putting it out into the wider world.

Sept 8, 2024 19:37:27 GMT -6 ScintillaMyntan said:

That would probably be good for me, not only to improve my writing but also because I need new daydreams. My current ones are dysfunctional and reinforce unhealthy narratives in my mind. I find it hard to deliberately replace my daydreams with other ones, but maybe writing them would help.

I tried writing a story just for myself exactly once a couple months ago, but stopped after one session. The thing is it felt pretty much indistinguishable from regular serious writing, except that the story premise would probably seem simplistic and childish to someone else. It wasn't really a daydream-type thing though.

It's interesting that you mention this. I find that most of my "for me" writing actually reinforces damaging core beliefs about myself. There's an initial rush and satisfaction that comes with identifying and having some control over those beliefs, but I'm not sure how beneficial they ultimately are in the long run. I relate to your second paragraph. I find that most of the writing I keep to myself feels self-absorbed and overly simplistic.