
To change your life, learn to write - mese848
https://medium.com/p/d0df747e02c8
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chasingthewind
Writing is probably not going to change your life.

But by all means, write like crazy...it's a wonderful hobby! I've written ten
(bad) novels in the last ten years and I've loved every minute of it. They've
been read by less than 5 people.

If I cook dinner but only my family eats it is that a failure? If I play the
piano but only for myself is that a failure? If I paint paintings that nobody
buys is that a failure?

Of course not.

Writing is no different than any one of a thousand other human activities.
Some pianists will reach a huge audience and change their lives as will some
painters and some chefs. Most won't and that's totally fine.

We need to stop believing that "all is lost" if we don't "succeed" on the
narrow terms defined by others. That goes for writing, coding, and everything
else.

~~~
gnull
Did you ever consider publishing your writings online anonymously?

I think they could be very interesting to other people who also write as
amateurs and show the results only to a couple of the closest friends, or
don't show to anyone at all.

~~~
chasingthewind
I've had some friends read things in a few cases and the reaction was
basically "hey good job" which I interpreted as "it was ok" :)

If I thought there was a particular audience that would be interested I
wouldn't be shy about sharing, but one thing that's kept me from going down
that route is that I'm not really looking for feedback per se.

What I mean by that is that I'm not actually trying to become a "better
writer" so my interest in ideas for improvement is a little low. It's mostly
self-indulgence on my part and I'm somewhat inclined to keep it that way :P

I have found it enjoyable to talk to my wife and daughter about the stories
and see what they thought, but I'll be perfectly honest and admit that my
interest in that is also self-indulgent...it's a way to keep enjoying the
world I created at their expense :D

