Writing is a creative act. It is the manifestation of written words into something valuable to the writer or their audience.
A writer must think of ideas and convert them into meaningful writing, such as a blog post, story, book, poem, etc. When someone reads a piece of writing, they gain value from it.
Even if the writing is purely for a creative purpose and not for publishing or achieving any other goal, the writer must foster his creative mind to produce something that satisfies him.
Therefore, writing is more about the process than the outcome, just like any form of creative act.
However, most writers today focus more on the results than the creative process. Views, likes, shares, and earnings drive them. This makes writing more like work or business; it cannot be defined as creative.
Creativity cannot be pure when the creator seeks external validation for it.
I don’t mean they should not earn a living doing creative work. It’s actually a good thing if you can make money off something you love doing.
But when it becomes purely for external outcomes, it lacks purity. That is mainly because results are never in your control. And trying to obtain the outcome you want means you want to manipulate something that isn’t in your control.
It can lead to frustration and mental breakdown, affecting your future work.
Creativity should be pure — something you do because you love doing it. It shouldn’t feel like work. It should be like play to you.
When you write for the metrics, you let your creativity sink in. Instead, you are allowing your money-minded business person to control your brain. You can’t call yourself a creative person if that’s the case.
Writing platforms and online sites can mess up your creativity because they can influence your thoughts. Their algorithms control the results of your work, making you hooked to their metrics.
Let go of wanting external validation for your writing, depending on any platform. Write for your own joy and because you love doing so. Only then will your true creative potential come to life.
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