Red light, Green light.

Written on September 16, 2009 by j. in How to be a writer

Did you ever play the game “Red Light, Green Light” as a kid? One person plays the “stop light” and the other kids have to try to reach him or her. Meanwhile, the “stop light” gets to shout out directions of when they can go or not go.

Let’s play a little game. Pretend your finished piece of writing is the “stop light” you’re trying to reach. The next time you are about to get to work, I want you to take a moment and ask yourself, “Why am I doing it?”

If the answer is anything like some of the following, stop.

I want to be published
I want to impress girls (or guys, or both)
I want to be famous
I want people to think I am a genius
I want to be validated by someone/something

These reasons all have sources outside of yourself. If none of those above situations come to pass, you’ll feel disappointed and wonder why you wasted so much time on that book, screenplay, or song.

If, however, your reasons match up with any of the reasons below, go, go, go!

I love the feeling of completion when I finish a piece
I enjoy playing with words
I like having this time to myself to sort out my thoughts
I love to create
It brings me joy

These are all reasons that originate from within, and therefore ultimately matter way more than any reason someone else could give you for writing.

* And, as is often the case, Adam P. Knave posted an excellent article today that’s completely related! Go check it out here.

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http://kevinkurz.com kevin

Great thoughts!

However, I’m not sure the first reasons are necessarily a bad thing. Being published means making money which means being able to continue to do what you love. Same with being famous. These are good reasons to write… they just can’t be your ONLY reasons.

http://www.julianafinch.com jules

Hi Kevin,

I think the first reasons are counter-productive when you are trying to get a first draft of something out. The thought of writing something that *has to be good enough* to publish, etc. is paralyzing for a lot of people. And ultimately, if writing isn’t fun for you, why waste so much of your time doing it?

I think the primary reasons for writing should come from the bottom list, while some secondary *goals* might come from the top list.

Paul

If it weren’t for writing to impress girls I’d have no music career…

Actually, if it weren’t for writing to impress girls there’d be no music.

http://www.julianafinch.com jules

Hah. Well, I guess my point is — if no one were buying it, would I stop writing forever? Absolutely not.

Impressing the girls is just a perk.

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http://kevinkurz.com kevin

You hit it exactly!

I was thinking about this more last night… The “Red lights” are more like goals you can have while you write, while the “Green lights” are reasons why you write… Green lights are much more important, but the Red lights can have their place as well