Writers, Dreamers, and Reality

Let's be honest up front. Writers desire notoriety. Skipping the ego aspects of this, let's look at the dynamics. If you call yourself a writer in your own heart , you desire to be widely read and appreciated. It doesn't matter if you write fiction, non fiction, poetry or any other style of writing.

The empty chair represents the writer's number one nemesis - his or her own inability to sit down and get it done. The reasons for not writing comprises a monolithic array of excuses, bailouts and evasions. Many writers struggle with the fear of success/failure. Let's go there.

What defines success to one writer may not satisfy the next. The levels of drive among writers can be as diverse as the stories they write. The dreamer in us (writers) craves the completion of a manifesto of sorts - something the author can tote proudly through the writer's conferences and online social networks.

I don't feel that the lust for success stems solely from public acceptance. Most writers I know who are serious about their craft want to produce a manuscript that delivers pride in abundant doses. Many of us struggle with our work. What we write often does not meet the standards we desire despite others swooning over it.

I wrote a number of pieces I am proud of but most need more work in my eyes. I do not want accolades because I'm in the right place at the right time, I want them for quality work. Now we're talking separation. Some writers measure their success in terms of dollars. If it rakes in money, who cares how well (or not) it is written? Others will work for peanuts as long as they produce high quality work.

The dreamer looks for the home run. He dreams of perfect phrasing, smooth, realistic dialogue and depth between the lines that would make the greats bow to him. The dreamer writes often out of near poverty or unstable financial times. The drive to create wells up when under pressure by the vagaries of life.

I would think (as I am not there yet) that a wealthy writer would have a difficult time continuing to write. Even tougher would be the ability to connect to 'everyday' man. The separation from the angst of struggling would have to influence a writer. I hope to get there one day...

The dreamer in us must struggle against the responsibilities we have to ourselves, our families and our friends and neighbors. I've been advised to write that which pays well. Trades, copywriters, journalism, etc offer income more stable and more consistent than what I enjoy writing. The dreamer must grapple with the realist to strike an amicable balance. The two need each other.

The dreamer cannot live without real, tangible income. The realist will burn out and/or give up without recreation. The two are opposite sides of the same one page manuscript. How a writer satisfies the relationship between the two determines direction.

Play it too safe and that home run you're looking for will never materialize. If you're not swinging, you cannot hit anything. Swinging at everything will send you to the bench covered in layers of chagrin that require a pep talk to get over.

The tug of war should morph more to a three-legged race where you work together. When the dreamer side of a writer acquiesces to the realist when it comes to mapping out the author's platform this is good. When the realist acknowledges he cannot create that which will please the inner writer and external audiences without the dreamer, a certain equilibrium can be formed.

Ultimately what is wrong with some of our writing brains is that this dynamic has not been settled. The dreamer is at war with the realist. Sounds a bit schizo to me, but I experience this conflict daily. There are days I feel my writing is going to soar and others I am certain failure and financial ruin stalk my every keystroke.

In less sane moments, that question, "What is wrong with my brain?" garners no answers, just shouts from the dreamer accusing me of being too analytical and retorts from the realist deriding dreams as failures waiting to happen. Sounds like a bad marriage doesn't it?

Since communication most often is key in a good marraige, I believe communicating honestly with yourself as a writer is critical to settling this conflict. Sit down with yourself. Ask yourself the tough questions but be sure you don't let your analytical side beat up the dreamer. The dreamer oozes creativity. We need that, don't we?