For Love Or Money?

Most people write in some form or another in relation to their personal life and their professional life. A ‘writer’ can be defined as many things particularly in a modern world where the importance of communication has increased exponentially. When you read an advertisement someone has written that as part of their job and even when you read a text message from a friend someone has written that with you in mind. So we can define our writing (and writing style) in terms of our audience. This particular article has writers and people with an interest in writing in mind.

Just for Fun

If there’s a book you really want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.  ~Toni Morrison

The amount of writing we all do for personal use increases as our connectivity increases. We write on face-book, twitter, emails and more as technology has allowed us to keep in touch with ease. You will hear many ‘die hard’ writers complain about the loss of grammar and structure because of these forms of communication. Personally I see it has a resurgence of communicating how we feel in a concise form. The writing we see today was never (and never will be) set in stone and continues to change.

Being a writer of poetry means experimentation in form is essential to me. Instead of seeing ‘text speak’ as the death of language we should rather see it as an evolution in communication from the previously common memo and even some forms of poetry. If you are writing for personal use you may have previously sent hand written letters (being a more personal form of communication) which were almost eradicated by the telephone and enjoyed a resurgence in the form of email.

So when does writing for pleasure become writing for profit? The simple answer to that would be money although a better explanation would be when the writing is necessary for your professional development. While you will not be paid for writing your own CV or resume it is written with professional advancement in mind.

Just for Money

I am opposed to millionaires, but it would be dangerous to offer me the position.  ~Mark Twain

Professional writing like personal writing comes in many forms and as mentioned previously does not only refer to writing that returns an economic gain. Motivation for these types of written pieces varies greatly but usually comes down to money or career advancement. Many of you will unknowingly write ‘professionally’ in your workplace in the forms of presentations, emails and reports. While these are day to day tasks in many jobs they are also specific forms of writing and in order to complete such tasks a basic understanding of formal and informal language is required (yes you’re a writer!).

With the increased size and scope of the internet it has become possible for many people to become freelance semi-professional writers. Some of you will have already published through one of the ever growing numbers of article websites or for a specific or personal website. Being a writer on four websites myself I see this form of writing not so much as a money maker but more of a career choice. I write because I enjoy it and if I can make a living from that then all the better.

You will see people published on the internet that write primarily for money and this always comes through in their writing and content. You can see immediately if someone enjoys writing or if it is merely a task they must perform in the course of their professional duties. This is where, as a writer, you must learn to combine the two in order to create pieces of writing that attract your audience.

Combine the Two

Do you have a love for writing or do you just want an easy job where you can sit on a chair? If you chose the latter please find some other vocation. You see too many people now writing or studying to be a writer merely because it sounds like a ‘good job’. This has meant that people who have a genuine skill and passion for writing find themselves competing with others who have no genuine desire to be a polished writer. The good news is that if you write because you love writing your readers and potential employers will see this and always place you ahead of others.

As you will see from my own website (kjwriteleft.com) I write because I enjoy it and the many forms it can be shaped into. While it is annoying to see so many people writing to merely try and make money it comforts me to know that they have forgotten that most writers (even successful ones) will never be rich. Wealth in writing is never measured by a pay cheque but rather in the exploration of words, meaning and structure. I hope if you are embarking on a writing career you will have the chance to combine both a love and a knowledge of writing that will make your passion infectious.