Ive been researching motivation and turns out there's decades worth of research saying extrinsic motivation (work for rewards) doesnt work in the long term and actively murders your intrinsic motivation (work enjoyable bc u like it) in a task, and that for creative tasks it's got a specially bad effect so like... now i get what people mean on the write for yourself front, setting yourself doable challenges and enjoying the task itself seems to be what builds up long lasting motivation
That’s exactly what it’s all about.
The problem with the phrase “write for yourself” is that it’s shorthand for so much more than that.
write to amuse yourself, because you are your own best audience
write to soothe yourself by giving a character the chance to do or experience something that you’re missing in your own life
write to excite yourself - have a thrilling adventure or kinky sex. Be a hero. be a villain. All from the safety of your home.
write to express yourself, slowly and with the ability to think about which are the right words
write to improve yourself by experimenting with genres or learning new techniques - or just getting better at grammar or spelling or upping your typing speed
write to indulge yourself in exactly the kind of story you wish existed in the world, with all of your favourite characters doing all of your favourite things
write to challenge yourself with a new word count or by writing every day or by finishing a story with 30+ chapters
Write because you love to write and keep writing, even if no one else cares. Because you care, and you’re the most important person you know.
turnnoffyourmind
gummygunk
kaledo-art
izzy806
