How many of you write for yourselves, not the reader?

[AG31]

I doubt many of us were very accomplished or polished when we began.

Here I am, suis generis in yet another category. My best story is my first. They get less substantive as they move on. Well, "almost" suis generis. I guess there is the known phenomenon of authors that only had one book in them.

 

[StillStunned]

Here I am, suis generis in yet another category. My best story is my first. They get less substantive as they move on. Well, "almost" suis generis. I guess there is the known phenomenon of authors that only had one book in them.

I think there's a difference between "polished or accomplished" and "best story". For many writers, their first story is probably the result of years of rumination and dreaming before the actual writing takes place. It's also probably the story they have a strong desire to tell, otherwise they wouldn't have taken the leap from dreaming about it to actually writing and publishing it. These factors together can make for a powerful story, without the writer necessarily understanding why it works.

 

[Bazzle]

Here I am, suis generis in yet another category. My best story is my first. They get less substantive as they move on. Well, "almost" suis generis. I guess there is the known phenomenon of authors that only had one book in them.

My first story is actually my "worst". Its my inner carnal perverse desires that actually no one else likes. Plus its badly written. The idea is amazing. BUT i've learnt from it. I have used parts of it better in other stories.

 

[DeMont]

I do very much want to write for my readers - if I’m ever fortunate to have any - as I truly believe most would be thrilled to be immersed in the parts of my life I want to share. I’ve traveled, I’ve had incredible sexual experiences, I’ve lived through an incredibly strange family dynamic. (Hi Mom!)

But at this stage I just don’t have the literary talent. I don’t know how to breathe written life into all my terabytes of images and videos and memories. And with a baby on the way, I don’t see that changing this year or next.

My dear @EmmAgain,
You, like every one of us here, has a story or stories to tell. In fact, the more "truthful" the experience, the more compelling the story. Literary talent is something that you develop and there are plenty of aids to help with that. One that springs to mind is "Grammarly", that is a program designed to help people write more "presentable" communications at work but it fulfills the very same function for non-work writing. Even Microsoft word has an inbuilt reviewer for spelling and grammar. That is if this is what you are worried about. I first joined Lit in 2019 and it took me until 2025 to get comfortable enough to put my first story up.

If you are afraid that people are going to read your writing and think it "silly", "sub standard" or some such other thing that is indeed a very real fear and all I can say is that one day you WILL find your courage and press that submit button.

Another option you might wish to explore is finding a friendly "volunteer editor" to read your stuff privately and suggest, gently, things you may wish to change or word differently. See, we really are a nice bunch here who have been in exactly the same place you are and we are here to help you find "your voice", so to speak.

We ( a great many of us) would love to read your stories while remembering that you are a first timer, then we encourage you to be a second timer, and a third timer and before you know it you are a writer for Lit.

If we give you the chance would you give us the chance to read your stuff?
Most respectfully,
D.

 

[TheGreatOz]

I've written a few short pieces for online playmates of mine describing their fantasies. They were primarily directed at them, to please a particular individual.

I also write much longer pieces that are very much written for me. I'm the audience because of the pleasure I take in crafting them. If it pleases others, that's a bonus, I do enjoy it but its not what motivates me. Those pieces are longer because I'm doing them for me. They're my babies, birthed because of my enjoyment of the act of their creation.

I'm always reminded of a quote from Vonnegut.

Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.

You can't please everybody. Don't try. Write for you, be authentic and if others like what you did too, be glad.

 

[big_cane_sugar]

I believe this is a false dichotomy. The only way to truly write for the reader is to write for myself. Anything else is an insult to the reader.

Also I might be a narcissist.

 

[crookedletter]

I write for myself, revise for the reader.

 

[EmmAgain]

My dear @EmmAgain,
You, like every one of us here, has a story or stories to tell. In fact, the more "truthful" the experience, the more compelling the story. Literary talent is something that you develop and there are plenty of aids to help with that. One that springs to mind is "Grammarly", that is a program designed to help people write more "presentable" communications at work but it fulfills the very same function for non-work writing. Even Microsoft word has an inbuilt reviewer for spelling and grammar. That is if this is what you are worried about. I first joined Lit in 2019 and it took me until 2025 to get comfortable enough to put my first story up.

If you are afraid that people are going to read your writing and think it "silly", "sub standard" or some such other thing that is indeed a very real fear and all I can say is that one day you WILL find your courage and press that submit button.

Another option you might wish to explore is finding a friendly "volunteer editor" to read your stuff privately and suggest, gently, things you may wish to change or word differently. See, we really are a nice bunch here who have been in exactly the same place you are and we are here to help you find "your voice", so to speak.

We ( a great many of us) would love to read your stories while remembering that you are a first timer, then we encourage you to be a second timer, and a third timer and before you know it you are a writer for Lit.

If we give you the chance would you give us the chance to read your stuff?
Most respectfully,
D.

Thank you for taking the time to compose such a helpful, informative reply. I appreciate your very generous welcome to a wide-eyed newbie to the world of personal writing. I’m tentative about this whole project - and also very pressed for time in my ‘real’ life - but understand that these things are best tackled in bite-sized chunks. I have a keen and talented volunteer editor. Now I just need to feed her!