A leap forward - me (shortly) about the art of writing.

I often think about how I used to love writing stories. The most important part of that sentence is "used to", because it's been ages since I wrote (not to mention finished writing) a story. Even as I write this, my mind goes into deja vu mode - this is definitely not the first time I am trying to get back to writing.

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What I find most difficult about writing now that I am no longer 13 but 23 years old is not lack of confidence in my skill. With enough practice, I suppose I was always able to produce decent, well structured texts (NOTE: mostly in my native language). My problem is that the stories I would like to see involve difficult, "otherworldly" topics that I think would be hard to relate to. Which breaks my problem down to one question...

Who am I writing for?

Many webpages like to tell you that writing for anyone but yourself is nothing more than self-slavery. You produce text to please others while producing itself doesn't please YOU. Which either leaves your muses dry or makes you hate every word you put on the paper. I can agree with this. 

At the same time, I think that writing for yourself - even though it can be very relaxing and therapeutic - misses the point. Writing contains a message. A message from YOU to OTHERS. When writing purely for your own entertainment, in ways that don't consider the view of the readers, you are becoming selfish and in the end - who wants to read that? Selfishness leads to misunderstanding, the value of your work is down at zero, your potential readers pretty much hate you. Surely the work of your mind and soul deserves better. Then what is the right way?

In my opinion, there is none. When writing, one must always manage the balance, carefully choose between expressing himself while also communicating with the reader. It's not easy and it's not something everyone can do. But in the end, that is why only some become authors while others only store tons of used up paper in their closet.