Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Does everyone want to write a book?

Tip of the day: so many awesome new shows are back on TV. Don't forget to tune into your favorites.

After writing last week that writing was just in me, I got to thinking how many people think writing is in them too. I'm sure most of the people on this blog do, but if you are reading this then chances are you've written a book, started writing a book, or are generally much more into reading than the average person.

But I've once heard a statistic that something like 90-95 percent of people have thought about or wanted to write a book. So if 95 percent of the population thinks "writing is in them," then how come more people aren't writers?

Is it a matter of how important writing is to you?

How much enjoyment you get out of it?

How dedicated you are to making it happen?

I'm not sure I have an answer. I think it mostly comes down to prioritizing and out of those 95 percent I think something else is more of a priority to them, so they never get around to writing. Just for fun or otherwise. This might also explain why sometimes it's harder to write, when you have so many other "priorities" pulling for your attention, and how hard it is to make time for writing.

But if writing is important to you, then I think you'll always find a way. If it's not then spend your time doing what makes you happy.

--Emily, Miss Querylicious

4 comments:

Kate Fall said...

I think people like the idea of having written a book and communicating their story idea, but not the actual writing part. Like it would be awesome to be a Harvard graduate but not to actually take tests and write papers. And I'd love to go on an archeology dig, but I don't think I'd ever do the classroom work to qualify. I bet I'd be good at it, though!

Emily Marshall said...

I completely agree with you Kate, which is why I think people choose the things that appeal to them most, even though we'd all like to do alot of things, but we aren't willing to put the work in for alot of them.

DeenaML said...

Yes, prioritizing is a huge reason!

Carmella Van Vleet said...

I think it ultimately comes down to how badly do you want it. When it gets hard (as writing a book always does at some point!), it stops being fun. It stops being worth the effort for most people. I think fear plays a part in it as well. "What if I fail?" or "What if I spend all this time writing and the book stinks?" are tough ones for some people to handle.