IWSG: I Love Writing

~ J.S. Pailly

Hello, friends!

Welcome to this month’s meeting of the Insecure Writers’ Support Group, a blog hop created by Alex J. Cavanaugh and co-hosted this month by Shannon Lawrence, Diedre Knight, Liza, and Pat Garcia.  Are you a writer?  Do you feel insecure?  Well, then this is the support group for you!  Click here to learn more and to see a list of participating blogs.

I love to write.  Everybody knows this about me, and over the years this has prompted a plethora of unsolicited writing advice.  I’ve been told I should write for the news, or write a sports column, or something like that, because that sort of writing is “easy.”  I’ve also been told I should write “smut,” because that’s what brings in the real money.  Or I should write about stoic philosophy, because that’s hot right now.  Or the manosphere, because that’s trendy.  And then there was one guy who desperately wanted me to write a book exposing “the truth” about Abraham Lincoln, because it’s about time the truth about Lincoln came out.

I have no idea what that Lincoln truther guy was talking about, and maybe I don’t want to know; but I do know this: if anyone should write a book about Lincoln trutherism, it’s that guy.  Not me.  I wouldn’t even know where to begin.  Same for the people who’d tell me to write about stoicism, the manosphere, or whatever else they think is trendy.  If they believe there’s something more to be said about those topics, they should write about it.  Not me.  And as for the people who say I should write smut, or write the news, or write sports… I think they should write those things themselves.  I think they should see for themselves how easy that is.  I think they should see for themselves how much money is in it.

Me?  I love to write, but with a caveat.  The act of writing, in and of itself, doesn’t do much for me.  The act of putting words down on paper?  Or the act of typing words on a keyboard?  Doesn’t do it.  I cannot write about anything, by which I mean that I can’t write about just any old thing.  My interests are too narrow.  I want to write about one and only one topic: space.

Oh, well… that’s fine, people say, but you should consider writing about other things, too.  Diversify your writing portfolio, people say.  That way, you won’t get typecast as that guy who only writes about space.  You do not want to be typecast as the guy who only writes about space, people tell me.  So try writing about religion, or L.G.B.T. issues, or A.I.  Everybody’s talking about A.I.  It’s really popular.  Have you considered writing about A.I.?

Again, to the people who want me to write about those things, go write about those things yourself.  I’m not going to write those books for you.  If you feel passionately about those topics to the point that you think someone should write a book about those topics, go write those books yourself.  Go write them, and don’t let anyone tell you you shouldn’t, and don’t listen when someone tells you you should write about something else instead.  Write about the things you’re passionate about.  Write about the things you love most.

Me?  I love space.  So I’m going to keep writing about that.

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Published by J.S. Pailly

22 thoughts on “IWSG: I Love Writing”

  1. You have to be interested in what you write to commit to writing a novel. I agree with you that you should stick with space, since that’s your passion. It’s weird how people want you to write about all these other topics.

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    1. My theory is that a lot of people want to be writers themselves, but they’re scared to do it. But if they really feel that strongly that a book about something ought to be written, maybe that’s their calling. Maybe they should go write it.

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    1. A labor of love. Exactly. And if you do want to make money, you need to get your readers to care about the thing you’re writing about. And it’s really hard to make your readers care about something if you don’t care about it yourself.

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  4. I’ve had people ask me if I will write their idea for a story (I guess as a kind of ghostwriter), and I always say no. I have enough ideas of my own to explore. I agree that people should write about what they are passionate about. And space is popular with a lot of folks.

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  5. Oh heavens no. What what you like to write about and stick with it. There’s zero reasons to write about stuff you have no cares about unless it’s an assignment you’re required to do. You write best when the topic is what you’re passionate about. Unless you’re feeling wild and want to write about Lincoln in a smutty relationship with a stoic philosopher IN SPACE just to please everyone. 😉

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    1. I’ve heard that, too, that bouncing between genres is also frowned upon. You can’t win. Everything’s frowned upon by somebody, so you may as well do what you want to do.

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  7. Right on! Or maybe I should say, write on! We writers each have a duty to write what we’re passionate about. I mean, if we don’t write those things, then who’s going to?

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  8. 😀 There are, I presume, people who write as a job, and therefore write whatever sells at the moment. I’ve also seen advice about “writing fiction to market” where you see what popular books in your genre & sub-genre are including, and incorporate those that fit your story because readers will be happier.

    I’ve been writing scifi about people settling on other worlds – stories set in the near to far future. I don’t think I can believably write those stories as scifi without some inclusion of AI… so your post makes me chuckle. Maybe I should try a portal fantasy where people just walk through a magical force field and – poof – stuck on an alien world with no tech and no AI.

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    1. I’m working on a few different Sci-Fi projects right now, and I’m pretty sure they’ll all at least acknowledge A.I. One of these projects involves a future where A.I. is an abandoned technology, but the story will still acknowledge A.I. in the sense that it will explain why A.I. was abandoned.

      But I’m not interested in writing something where A.I. is the central focus of the story. I know it’s very trendy right now, but it’s just not where my interests currently lie.

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      1. There are several sci-fi tropes I avoid: horror, military, and AI as the central point of the story. Those don’t call to me, so other authors will do a much better job. For my colony stories, I find a way to dump NASA and governments. Others already cover those perspectives. I’d rather use characters who are more like “regular” people. I’m looking forward to when you share your current projects 🙂

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  9. People are crazy! Write what you want. There’s nothing wrong with creating a niche for yourself. I love that you are the person who writes about space. If someone is looking for some space writing, I got someone for that. You! I love the humor of this post but also appreciate your consistency and honesty. Keep doing you.

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  10. I’ve had people tell me, “I have this terrific premise. You write the story and release it, and we’ll split the profit.” Sheesh. Write your own book. And, for people who think the “profit” part is easy… there’s a surprise coming.

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    1. People have said similar things to me. And if they genuinely believe their idea is terrific, great! Go write it! I will never be able write your idea better than you can.

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