TCWT: Ultimate Goals

Sorry for posting this so late. I arrived home late and was busy with homework until 10.

This month, I decided to participate in Teens Can Write, Too!'s blog chain.

The prompt was: What is your ultimate goal as a writer?

The most common answer to this question is probably getting published. Others might include fame, awards, or financial success. I've definitely dreamt of each of these over the years, and even developed detailed interview responses. (It's good to prepare, right?)

As I've gotten older, my dreams of grandeur have definitely decreased. Lately, I've even begun to fear sharing my work with others. I'm my toughest critic, and my inner editor sometimes questions whether writing's for me at all.

It's a topic I've discussed before. Are the sacrifices I make for writing really worth it? But time and time again, I've discovered that they are. Writing is my tool to make sense of the world. For that reason - because I write for myself - it isn't important to me to become published.

That's not to say becoming published isn't a goal. I'd love to make money off my writing someday. However, I'm certainly not going to rely on luck (which seems to be a large component of success as a writer.) I don't need my mother's weekly reminders to realize that writing isn't a reliable career path.

I'm reminded now of an incident several weeks ago. My mother and I were in Seattle, visiting my sister at a robotics competition. We left soon, so decided to give our parking ticket to a family which had just arrived. The father, who was driving, thanked us with a copy of his CD.

As we drove home, I listened to the CD. It was a collection of piano pieces, most classical. A biography of the artist was featured on the back cover. As it happened, he had loved music all his life. He was born to a musical family in Lebanon, and has performed with his brothers several times since they moved to the US. Though he's most likely profited little financially, his passion for music is as strong as ever.

I share the story first because I find the musician's pursuit of his dreams inspiring. I'm also hoping for a similar outcome - the eventual distribution of my work, with a well-paid job as support.

The last topic I'd like to address is the question of audience. That is, what type of story I want to write, and which readers I'd like to attract.

My stories tend to be realistic, but not edgy, and deal with young people. Usually that means young adults (actual ones.) However, my most recent protagonist has been a teen, and her story is one of my favorites I've written. Though I'd hate to classify myself as a strictly YA writer, it's a genre I'd like to explore more.

(Labels make me feel cramped, so I'm envisioning pulling off a John Green-type literary position: as a YA writer whose books are popular with many adults, and are as critically acknowledged as general fiction.)

My ideal reader is a young person who's interested not just entertainment, but in considering stories on a deeper level. That's not to say I'd want too much time dedicated to my works' themes/message; subtlety is generally a much better approach. Message shouldn't interfere with the enjoyment of a story - for example, think The Hunger Games. The novel is exciting and engaging, but also includes lots of serious discussion material. (This applies to books 2 and 3 as well.)

A while ago, I read a quote (I believe) by Joss Whedon, the creator of one of my favorite TV shows: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." He didn't care if the series was necessarily widely viewed, but wanted it to be loved by its fans. I'd hope the same for anything I publish. (Critics' love wouldn't hurt either.)

Thoughts?

If you'd like to follow the blog chain:
April 5th – http://miriamjoywrites.wordpress.com/
April 6th – http://www.inklinedwriters.blogspot.com/
April 7th – http://www.paulinaczarnecki.wordpress.com/
April 8th – http://insatiablebeforedeath.wordpress.com/
April 9th – http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com/
April 10th – http://avonsbabbles.wordpress.com/
April 11th – http://theloonyteenwriter.wordpress.com/
April 12th – http://insideliamsbrain.wordpress.com/
April 13th – http://kirstenwrites.wordpress.com/
April 14th – http://creatingtherenaissance.wordpress.com/
April 15th – http://charactercentral.wordpress.com/
April 16th – http://realityisimaginary.blogspot.com/
April 17th – http://www.novelexemplar.wordpress.com/
April 18th – http://charlieeatmybook.blogspot.co.uk/
April 19th – http://zarahoffman.tumblr.com/
April 20th – http://thelittleenginethatcouldnt.wordpress.com/
April 21st – http://theangelicauburn.wordpress.com/
April 22nd – http://eatwritedie.blogspot.com/
April 24th – http://veewhoa.wordpress.com/
April 25th – http://www.alwaysweavingwords.blogspot.com/
April 26th – http://anqiyu.wordpress.com/
April 27th – http://bloodoverithaca.wordpress.com/ 
April 28th - http://incessantdroningofaboredwriter.wordpress.com/