Dr Johnson said that nobody but a blockhead ever wrote for anything except money. I have a great deal of sympathy with this view, but I don’t altogether agree with it. I thought about this earlier today, when I came across an article I wrote, but never published, in 2012.
That article was languishing on my computer, complete with typos. It’s a scathing but occasionally humorous (in a bitter sort of way) diatribe against a major government education project at the time. I literally threw down my thoughts on (virtual) paper — and then did nothing with it. Why not? Well, even though I have a bit of a reputation for making my views known about such things, even I probably had enough sense of self-preservation to realise that such a public rant would probably be somewhat career-limiting.
So, was writing it a complete waste of time? Not at all, for the following reasons:
I love writing, so writing that article was doing something I enjoy. Having other people read the stuff I write is a bonus, and an extra source of joy, but not the sole reason for doing it.
It was, I am pretty sure, cathartic!
Musicians practise, and practise, and practise, in order to be on top of their game. Why wouldn’t writers do the same? If they are serious about improving their craft, they would do, no doubt about it. Even if what you write is (in your opinion) rubbish, the exercise will still have been worth the effort, especially if you can pinpoint why it’s rubbish.
Bottom line: a writer is someone who writes, not someone who thinks about how nice it would be to do some writing but does nothing about it. Writers write, so stop reading and get on with it!
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