Oh, I agree with Kathy. This is fascinating. Why ever would you want to close this thread? I think about this often myself, when my doubts about becoming a successful writer rear their ugly little heads.
I'd echo what the others have said about writing fanfic. If you are not writing in an attempt to make a career of it, then writing is a hobby (and I say this broadly, knowing that many people write hoping it becomes a profession or money maker and certainly don't consider it a hobby in any way, myself included). And once a hobby loses its appeal, what reason is there to do it any longer?
But, even bigger, I think people who consider themselves writers - even if they do it only nonprofessionally - write because they
have to write. Like Jude said, they can't
not write. Whether it's fanfic or original fiction, the need is so great that writing is its own reward, regardless of anything else they get out of it. If they seriously consider that not writing is an option, one they could actually carry out, then giving it up wouldn't even be a question. When it got hard, they'd take up fly fishing or yodeling or cliff diving instead.
Too, I think anyone considering if he or she should stop writing might want to examine why they write in the first place. Borrowing this list from
J.A. Konrath , is it:
- a need for self expression?
- for money? (not really applicable in fanfic)
- an inflated sense of your own importance?
- for fame or applause?
- peer pressure? (a big one in fanfic
)
- to change the world?
- art for art's sake?
- a need for attention?
- to ease the pain?
- for self-gratification?
- to forget?
- to remember?
- because it's important?
- a need for acceptance?
- because you can't stop?
Some of these are good reasons, most are not. But I would say only the last one is good enough to keep writing if it no longer holds any appeal to you. And, really, if the reason you write is because you can't stop, then the process is probably still fun and the question moot. If you enjoy writing, you will keep writing even if every word that comes out of you is never read by another person. You get pleasure from the act of writing itself, not the result, so if the act is not pleasurable, there is no reason to continue. Because it certainly isn't worth the time spent or the headaches involved.
Lynn
