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Joined: 4/27/2011
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What’s most important to you as a writer: (1) critical acclaim and the recognition of your peers, (2) personal satisfaction at having written something you’re proud of [or as I like to put it: “See, right there? That’s where I was better than I am!”] or (3) financial remuneration?
Granted, to a greater or lesser extent all of these things are important to every writer. But if you had to answer this “forced choice” question how would you answer? If the reward you picked would (by the mere fact of having chosen it) exclude the other two?
I’m truly curious.
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OK, if you put it that way, Solomon  fame is fleeting and money I can earn, so, I have to choose (2) personal satisfaction because that will last the rest of my life.
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Joined: 1/10/2012
Posts: 28
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I have to agree with GD and go with (2). Writing is painful enough that neither money nor the appreciation of others can overcome the high threshold of my aversion, and I can speak from experience.
As a lawyer, neither the money they were paying me in BigLaw, nor the praise I got for my legal writing could get me over the procrastination (the only thing that did were deadlines - those are priceless). When I started writing fiction, I did it for myself, not thinking I'd ever share it with anyone, let alone expecting a monetary reward for it, yet I couldn't wait to get going every morning. The first time fiction-writing stopped being fun was when a couple of people read my stuff and started putting expectations on it - publish! Make money! Nothing kills the joy quicker for me than thinking in these terms.
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Joined: 8/21/2011
Posts: 394
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I'd have to agree with both GD and Maria - self-satisfaction and writing for the pure joy of writing are what matter most to me. Sure, it would be nice to actually get published and earn some money for my efforts. And there's a lot to be said for getting positive accolades from your peers and other readers. But, in the end, it's just you and the words you scratched onto a page.
And Maria is so right - when other people start putting expectations on what you do for fun, it really does kill the joy. I've been making tiles and jewelry for a number of years now and people have frequently told me I should be more active about selling my work. Well, I have only participated in ONE craft show - simply because it was at my company and 20% of your earnings went to a great local charity. I've told people that if I get too serious about pursuing the craft show/gallery showing route, then what I basically consider "hobbies for the good of my creative soul" will become too much like work. I don't need a second job.
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Joined: 4/29/2011
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I'm willing to bet everyone that replies to this thread is going to go with Choice #2.
Critical acclaim is like the latest fashion trend. It can go just as quickly as it came. Let's not forget that with success like that you're bound to get people who're going to be on the opposite spectrum and absolutely love bashing your work. I already have a day job and while I wouldn't mind being rich, I think most writers are intelligent enough to realize this isn't the business to get into if you're wanting to be a millionaire. The term "starving artist" was coined for a good reason.
I choose personal satisfaction. I love writing, and there's nothing better than managing to finally write something you're unabashedly proud of. These fleeting moments of genius are what I live for.
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Joined: 6/7/2011
Posts: 467
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Sure. I write for the personal satisfaction of it, which is profound. At the moment, there is precious little reason to do it otherwise. I've never made any money at it, and the circle of those who actually read what I write is far too small to allow the concept of acclaim.
But I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to make money off it. And frankly, when a stranger tells me how much they like something I wrote, it jazzes me up like few other things can. (Probably this has something to do with how rare and fleeting such moments are.)
What the hell, I want to be appreciated, even admired. Samuel R. Delany said all writers he knew tended to be lazy, self-absorbed, and obsessed with money. (And the man knew a lot of writers.) But while these all seem like negatives, consider the upside of each. Laziness can prompt efficiency, meaning lean and inventive writing. Self-obsession can lead to a habit of critical self-examination, hopefully yielding a unique world view rather than bathetic platitudes. And avarice can be not only a goad towards productivity, but also a way of keeping your perspective grounded in practical, real life, concerns.
Taken all for all, not a bad formula. I'm not saying I buy it entirely, but I'd like to think there's some truth to it. Especially since all three are traits I share in abundance.
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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1) Money
2) Satisfaction
3) Acclaim
Why those who frequently bump into me on BC may ask? Because I already consider writing like work that I'm not getting paid for. Yes, I love writing. LOVE it! I was doing it before I knew how my alphabet (according to my mother and the evidence she has presented before me). When I get something done I feel accomplished. Yet, I really like money. I like making money. Give me the green.
Acclaim... I hate critics. Enough said.
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Joined: 8/21/2011
Posts: 394
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There is an awful lot to be said for getting paid to do something you actually love!
Personal fulfillment and satisfaction aside, I certainly wouldn't turn down a lucrative book contract. I mean, which one of us would? But I have gotten paid to write before (when I was a science writer) and I had to do an awful lot of compromising (to fit column-inch requirements). And with stories due every two weeks, there was very little time to write a truly magnificent piece - especially when you're writing about a new piece of lab equipment or some obscure, miniscule funding source.
So, I guess I would have to stick with my original answer: personal satisfaction.
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Joined: 3/17/2011
Posts: 88
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Hey Carl,
The answer is simple: (1) critical acclaim and the recognition of my peers (as in, dinners at Steven Spielberg's house and the like). First of all, with critical acclaim and the recognition of my peers, money will surely follow--certainly enough money for me to get by. And second, my personal satisfaction is not what fuels the art, now is it? Too much satisfaction and your art becomes self-indulgent, redundant, precious. Look no farther than George Lucas--he's got all the wealth in the world, so he's surely not motivated by that anymore, and the critics think he's a total hack. George Lucas: poster child for personal satisfaction in one's art. 
-Kevin
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Joined: 10/20/2011
Posts: 350
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I have to echo Rachel's statement that we're all going to say #2.
I promised myself I would publish a book before I was 30. If I do so, I'll be proud. Even if I miss that deadline but still get published, I'll be happy and proud to have done that.
That said, I wouldn't mind some acclaim. Not critical acclaim but for readers. I'd like someone else but my family to read and like what I've written. And to want to read more by me.
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Joined: 4/27/2011
Posts: 608
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Thank you for weighing in with your comments! Cogently reasoned, well-articulated, amusing and thought-provoking postings, from each and every one of you. I knew ya'll would make this thread a “must-read”!
Personally, I find that I’m in agreement with Kevin Haggerty here (though for slightly different reasons than he gave in his response).
Why would I choose recognition over money or satisfaction? Easy—I’m used to being poor, so money holds no especial allure for me. As for personal satisfaction, that, I’m sorry to say, is contingent upon the recognition and approbation of my peers.
Let me try to explain: I’m a needy-greedy applause pig. It’s the truth. I also know that I can hardly be objective about judging the worth—or lack thereof—of my own writing. I may think I’ve written something particularly clever, amusing, provocative or [fill in the blank] but until I hear back from my “ideal reader” I don’t know that I’ve pulled it off. Hence, I’m constantly writing in an agony of self-doubt and borderline despair, convinced I’m involved in the artful construction of self-masturbatory monologues when what I’m really aiming for is dialogue: the exchange of ideas, emotions, speculative ruminations and iconoclastic interrogations of meaning, morality and ontological significance with another. Ya know?
I’ll get out of the way now and let the dialogue continue.
Thanks again, everyone, for checking in on this topic. Respect, affection and admiration to you all!—those who have already posted, and those yet to post.
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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Looking at the pieces I've written over the years, it's clear that I write for my personal satisfaction. No one could come to another conclusion.
Nothing I have created is truly publishable, for various reasons, for each project is very different from the rest.
Most of what I've written is children's fantasy, in verse, word games, which I have had to figure out how to make work, from which I have had a lifetime of both aggravation and delight.
Carl, I guess I'm your opposite. All my self-doubt and despair result from wondering if I will ever finish my thing. Other than that, I believe in it. Oh, I was aware that some of my troublesome tendencies wouldn't go over well, and I was right. I am committed to making modifications. I do take to heart the critiques I've received, but in the end, I must please myself.
I think that if you work with a goal of profit in mind, the joy evaporates. And I wonder, if you are too concerned with acclaim, do you censor yourself without realizing it?
We'd all like to be successful, but what matters most is the fun in the creating. That's the only reward that any of us can count on. And that's fine with me.
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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Reading the comments after I posted I realized I didn't really give my view on the act of creating. At heart, I am a "true" artist. I do it because I have the passion to and do not hold myself back because someone may not like it. Art is subjective much like perspective and opinion. I like the feed back and take the work that someone has poured into a good critique to heart. I love creating a dialogue with my audience and look forward to hearing from everyone of you, but I would feel really happy if I could make money doing it. The one creative writing professor I've had made me write a new story every two weeks that couldn't be more than 5,000 words or less than 3,500 words. It is grinding and difficult, but I still loved doing it. That is when it became work for me and I finally understood how truly difficult this is. Still, I never lost my passion for it.
Carl, is it okay if I call you Tinkerbell since you need applause to live?
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Joined: 4/27/2011
Posts: 608
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Heh-heh! Uh, no . . .
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Joined: 1/9/2012
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Interesting question. What's important to me as a writer? I'm going to add one to your list. #4: Time. With more time to write, #2 is increased, you have a better chance of #1, which might, hopefully lead to #3, which would give you a better chance of securing large chunks of #4.
And so on.
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Joined: 5/10/2011
Posts: 88
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My honest reaction to the question (prior to reading the comments) was #2, but I realized that that's kind of an idealistic answer (for me). I want to say #2, because my own appreciation of my work & ability is necessary for me to continue working... (much like many writers, I get stuck in the "wow, this is worthless, why am I even trying" funk... don't worry, I get over it But it's the "critical acclaim" of my beta readers (and the reviewers on BC) that help me reclaim my personal satisfaction...
And seriously, how awesome would it be to receive critical acclaim for my work at some point down the road? To be famous, even for one day, because some big name read my work and said "hey, this doesn't suck that much!"
That was my long way of saying that #1 is actually most important... as much as I hate to admit it, I need that pat on the back from someone other than myself...
Maybe Carl & I need to battle it out for the title of Tinkerbell...
Side note - I agree with Marc... the most most important thing (and the one thing I wish I had more of every day) is time to work on my writing...
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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I have one thought to add to my comment above. I do doubt. But my main discouragement is wondering if I will ever finish Sly.
I've found that no matter what problem I have, I always manage to resolve it. I have gone so far as to toss whole sections into the trash, trash emptied, no copies squirreled away to remind myself of the previous dead-end approach. This works for me.
The important thing is not to give up. Equally important is not to give in, not to settle. Keep at it until you hit on a fix that makes you smile.
Attention? No, thanks. I'm a recluse, and I like it that way. Approval? All I really need is my own approval. Money? I'm on the brink of retirement, and I'll get by. To complete a tale that I consider to be e-publishable (whether I ever do it or not), for the thrill of it, then to illustrate it (I went to art school), that's my goal.
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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Sorry, Carl. You left yourself wide open for that one. I really couldn't resist. I had to take the shot. Remember, I am the creator of Tao.
Lisa, are you sure you just don't want the wings? I know I would because they would make me feel pretty.
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Joined: 11/18/2011
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There are four reasons or even five. The thing you have left out is to have others read you. Whether there is any money or acclaim in it some people just want others to hear them or to know they have moved or entertained others. Storytelling as opposed to "writing" is a gift. and there is magic in seeing people listen open mouthed to your story as you tell/read it orally.
I know that I get a buzz off knowing that every week quite a few people read me and taht each week a few of them actually pay to read me.
But the writing I do is for my own satisfaction primarily and for years I did it for no reason but because I wanted to badly enough to do it..
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Joined: 3/12/2011
Posts: 376
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You all can call me Tinkerbell. I live for the applause.
Reasons
- I can make money other ways, and money in this business is more a matter of being good at marketing than being good at writing
- I'm fantastic at fooling myself about whether my work is any good.
And hearing someone say "I really liked that" is a monster rush.
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Joined: 3/13/2011
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satisfaction. the recognition is good, but only insofar as it gives me satisfaction in a job well done.
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Joined: 1/10/2012
Posts: 192
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Can we all be Tinkerbells? Because, in the end, aren't we all living for the confirmation from our peers that we are good writers, and validation that our work has made an impact (small or large) on someone? I'm a Tinkerbell, and proud of it! Before LeeAnna's spin on this (which I loved), I was going to agree with Atthys and say that for me, personal satisfaction is all about validation. Whether that be in the form of peers lauding my work, the public buying my books, or the NYT putting it on the best sellers list for 20 weeks or something like that, it's all part of what makes me feel like all of the blood, sweat and tears was worth it in the end. I'm needy - what can I say? I need feedback from peers, friends and family to encourage me to persevere, and ultimately, and editor and publisher to get me to print! If my books never make much money, I think I'll be okay with that. Like Carl said, I'm used to being poor, so you can't miss what you never had. For me, the greatest joy will be holding up my book and saying, "Hey, I did this!"
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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Thanks for the shout out Laura, and for clarifying that all of us need applause to live. We artist are gods in that we create, and parasites in that we feed off public opinion or the opinions of our peers. Who wouldn't want to be us?
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Joined: 4/27/2011
Posts: 608
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Greedy-needy, preening-screaming, winking-blinking-thinking tinkering Tinkerbells that we are, heh!
PS. Maybe I should rename this thread . . .
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Joined: 6/7/2011
Posts: 467
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There is, I think, at all of our cores a child – petulant, insecure, needy, and greatly offended that the world, which once seemed to revolve around us like our own private solar system, doesn't do that anymore. Writing is one more way of shouting: "Hey! Look at me!"
I admit, I do sometimes tire of this thrashing toward immortality. But what other options are there? Selflessness? Enlightenment?
Pshaw. Not for me.
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Joined: 6/7/2011
Posts: 467
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I only just noticed I had the world revolving like a solar system. Ick! Awful.
Blame it on strong drink.
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Joined: 8/21/2011
Posts: 394
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Well, Atthys, once upon a time, we did believe that the sun and everything else in solar system and the universe revolved around us. Then those upstarts Copernicus and Galileo came along and put us in our rightful place.
Yeh, and selflessness and enlightenment wear a little thin after some time.
Heck, yes, we should all be shouting, "Look at me!" Or at least, "Read my stuff!" I'd rather see some writers get some attention other than politicians and professional athletes every so often!
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Joined: 6/7/2011
Posts: 467
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Yes, but the business of the world revolving around us and also being a solar system. It's just bad. Forget I ever wrote it.
The image of a private solar system itself isn't bad. Like a mobile hanging over a crib, there for our amusement.
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Joined: 3/12/2011
Posts: 376
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I dunno, Atthys, I've been told my ego has a gravitational well larger than that of the Earth, so...
Yeah, moving on.
I still want acclaim. Honestly, I'm not hugely concerned if it's critical, fellow author, or rabid fan. I do want it to be for my writing, though, not my sparkling personality or ability to shout real loud.
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Joined: 5/25/2011
Posts: 121
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Hi Guys,
In the simplest sense I would have to say #3 for one reason. Then I could kick the day job in the slats and spend my time writing.
In a deeper sense I write because I’ve always wanted to. Maybe I’m goal driven. I can remember the day I realized that the work I was doing for my Doctorate had worked out, that I was finished (of course I still needed to write the damn dissertation). It was something like 2 or 3 AM. I was one of the few souls around the Geology building. I went for a walk around the building with a baseball glove and a softball. Every so often I would stop in the hallway and bounce the ball off the wall and catch it on the rebound. There was an odd sense of peace – of accomplishment. That’s the way I felt when I finished Agony of the Gods. It’s like a narcotic – a real peaceful high. I’d done it.
I have to agree with Angela though, I wonder if deadlines, etc. would take the joy out of it. I’m an advanced amateur photographer – I’ve done albums for family and friends, publicity shoots for a choir and the college theater department, and gotten a bit of praise over the quality of my work, but if I was being paid I’d be constantly worried that my work wouldn’t be good enough. The fun goes out of the world.
Acclaim? No, I wouldn’t want acclaim for my sake. To have some readers tell me they enjoyed my work would be enough for me. That’s what keeps me doing photography gratis. Sometimes it’s what you give, not what you get.
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Joined: 4/27/2011
Posts: 608
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"Sometimes it's what you give, not what you get."
Almost always, Tom. Almost always . . .
:: ouble thumbs-up:::
PS. Loved that anecdote about walking around the quiet, shadow-hushed building at 3:00 AM. I've been a midnight-shift security guard; I know that hour of the morning well. Good story material there . . .
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Joined: 3/16/2012
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The reason I started writing, and still write, is out of a desire to give someone else the pleasure of a good story, the way other authors have given that pleasure to me. To say that I write out of a need for personal satisfaction is not accurate when my joy in it comes from creating joy in others.
However, to say that I write out of a desire for critical claim and peer recognition isn't accurate either. It's possible to have all the recognition in the world and still feel empty, like you didn't really share anything real with anybody, didn't really touch anybody, but merely impressed them. Impressing people has always come easy for me and it never gave me any warm fuzzies.
As for writing out of a desire for money, for me it's not even possible. I don't have a problem with the idea of getting money for doing what I love, but as soon as that becomes my motivation--and it does very often, every time an appliance dies--the writing dries up faster than spit in an oven.
You know what, everything I just said is hogwash. I may be striving to write for the reasons that really fill me, but when it comes down to it, acclaim, then money. I hate to say it, but if getting acclaim and money means I forget about getting either in order to produce something good enough in order to get acclaim and money, i.e. via the "right" motivation, then I will do it. That sounds so wrong... (Notice how the high and mighty, altruistic tone magically disappeared just now as I actually answered Carl's question.)
Thank you for the thought-provoking question, Carl! I learned a lot about myself just now. Eek.
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Joined: 4/27/2011
Posts: 608
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Heh-heh! That was a wonderful response, Nike: honest, startling, amusing. Anyone who can tell the truth like that on themselves is going to be a hell of a writer. Good luck!
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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Ooh, look, honesty! I like honesty. They make for such wonderful answers. Who wants people who lie to make themselves look better? The man (or woman) who speaks the truth is worth more in my humble opinion.
Heh, humble. There is a word I am not.
I long ago discovered through my passion for writing that I'm not as capable of being so altruistic and selfless as people like to think I am. I realized I like money and the self-satisfied boost of people giving me a compliment over something I created. (These desires perhaps grew out of the belief that I'm not much good at anything else.) I don't mind being a parasitic-god of an artist. Let people feel disdain as I shove my work under peoples' noses and wave it around. I've sweat blood and wept tears over my work, I want them to see it. I am the center of my universe, damn it! Worship me!
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Joined: 4/27/2011
Posts: 608
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You are the Goddess of the Midnight Disease, LeeAnna! (That's Michael Chabon's oft-invoked phrase in the novel Wonder Boys for the affliction that strikes those of us who can't resist scritch-scribbling at the midnight hour.)
:::worship-worship:::
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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Thank you, Carl, but I'm only up this hour because my mind won't shut up. (I blame seeing The Hunger Games.) My husband likes to drag me to bed with him, and I managed to sneak out of it tonight. I used to do midnight scribbling quite often, but now I find I'm strangely effective in the early mornings. It must be because that is when I imbibe my coffee. Lots of it. My husband has won that battle, but not the war. I got a typewriter out of his tax return. When it concerns my writing, I can pretty much get him to bend over backwards. Don't tell him that.
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Joined: 4/27/2011
Posts: 608
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Re: "My husband likes to drag me to bed with him . . ."
Well, that's because he . . . I mean you, being . . . the law of nature dictates . . . oh, never mind! I refuse to take a swing at that fat, low-hanging curve ball right over the plate. Must . . . resist . . .
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Joined: 1/10/2012
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Carl - Oh, come on now, what fun is resistance?
*snicker*
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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I know I left that open, but the truth is I'm like his teddy bear. He has a hard time sleeping without me. It complicates things when I want to stay up and continue to work on my scribblings.
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Joined: 4/27/2011
Posts: 608
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Thank you for contributing to the discussion with such an articulately-expressed, emotionally-grounded and wise response, David!
Do you know this one? A student came to his highly-lauded, accomplished and world-renowned writing teacher and asked, "How long will it take me to become proficient in the art of writing?"
The teacher thought a moment and said, "Twenty years."
"Twenty years!" the student exclaimed. "I don't have that kind of time. What if I write 5,000 words a day, read ten books a week, devote all my waking hours to the study of literature and writing mechanics and pare my social circle down to only those people who are as obsessed and enthralled with the written word as I am?"
"Ah," said the writing teacher. "That's different." He smiled a small, sad smile. "Sixty years," he said.
--edited by Carl E Reed on 8/9/2013, 11:47 PM--
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Joined: 3/16/2011
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Carl, I'll give you an honest answer.
I'm going to go with Money. My reasoning is, if I get to the point I'm making money off my writing that means it has a market. Someone is buying and presumably enjoying my work.
#1 I'm not too concerned with. Awards are nice and if I'm successful enough to make money I'll have the attention of my peers, be it respect/disdain/jealousy/dislike.
#2 Personal satisfaction. I don't think I'll ever write something I'll be 100% happy with. It's not possible. There will always be something to polish, rewrite or do better.
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Joined: 5/25/2011
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Hi Carl,
Just sent you a recommendation. I'd actually just appreciate it if you read Chapter 19 and let me know what you think about it.
Thanks,
Tom
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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David, I'm going to print that out and frame it (or just post it on my bulletin board). Bravo. I think every one should read that.
Carl, the story about the student reminds me of what my writing professor told us in his class. "You have one million bad words to get out before you get to the good ones. Of course, that doesn't go for everybody. Some need less and some need more. Usually it's more."
Danielle, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one gunning for the green.
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Joined: 6/7/2011
Posts: 467
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Ray Bradbury said the same thing, you had to produce a million words of crap before you could produce anything of value.
As a relatively new writer (Note I said new, not young) I have to hope he's not right. That's ten hefty novels worth of dross to wade through. I don't have that many years.
Worth noting: any number of writers have produced very worthwhile novels in their early to mid-twenties (Hemmingway, Dickens). I guess we don't know how prolific they were in their youth, but S. E. Hinton wrote The Outsiders at sixteen. Not amazing literature, perhaps, but certainly worthwhile. Might also add The Red Badge of Courage (Crane was 23), Buddenbrooks (Mann was 25). Asimov was, I think, only 21 when he wrote "Nightfall" (which remained one of his fan's all-time favorite stories even after all the reams of stuff he produced after. That must have rankled a little.)
Anyway...
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Joined: 12/17/2011
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I'd go with personal satisfaction - to know that other people love my work and believe in what I do would be beyond price. That said, I would like to earn enough money to stop working full time at my present job (I'm actually tempted to still do part time as I met a lot of almost too colourful characters) because then I could write novels for a living. And what a blissful way to live.
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Joined: 1/31/2012
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For me, its money.Money would allow me to write more and the more I write, the more fun it is and the more satisfied I am with my writing.
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Joined: 6/14/2012
Posts: 194
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As a natural rebel, I don't like forced choices...and in this case, particularly, because (as usual with forced choices) it's a false situation.
I do make money at writing--I support the family, two horses, a cat, and a wildlife management project with money from writing. Making money at something you already enjoy brings immense personal satisfaction--more than writing without money ever got me, in the decades when I wrote only for myself. Money validates, just as outside critical acclaim can validate, what you're doing. And it's far more useful than critical acclaim: you can trade the money for food, electricity, horse feed, hoof trims, car repairs, a new hot water heater, books, yarn (and more yarn...) etc, etc. Telling the guy at the car repair place you won a Pulitzer won't get your water pump or your brakes fixed. There's great personal satisfaction in knowing you can afford to pay your bills.
I write because I'm a writer...that's always been true. I write what I want to write--that's also always been true. But do I want the money on top of that? You bet your bippy. It's why I'm able to write as much as I do and not have to flip burgers or be a greeter at Wal-Mart (neither of which would support the family, the two horses, and my yarn habit.)
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Joined: 4/26/2011
Posts: 26
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Good question Carl!
(And great answers from everyone here)
In my own personal (idiosyncratic) case - the order would be:
1) Money (from book sales)
2) Critical acclaim
3) Personal satisfaction
The reason I say this is, if I had money from my books, it would be because they sold a lot of copies. If they sold a lot of copies, it would mean they'd had a big influence (ie potentially. I mean, maybe I could also sell a million copies and maybe nobody was influenced by the book. Is there a whole lot more bondage going on now since `50 Shades'? I'm really not sure but would like to see some market research on this).
Also - pondering this question puts me in mind of Pierre Bourdieu's practice theory. He stated in his (excellent) 1993 book "The Field of Cultural Production" (about literature and art) that literary acclaim is like "The economic world reversed" ie winner loses. ie You might be like James Joyce and be hailed as a literary genius but sell no copies. (Joyce had to self publish Ulysses and his other novels). Likewise, with commercial success (say, Stephen King, loser wins), ie He rolls in cash but many literary critics slam him, as a hack.
I'm also put in mind of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's theories on creativity, eg writers etc who do the activity for its own reward, ie because they enter the
"flow" state when they write. A great article here BTW
The Creative Personality
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199607/the-creative-personality
Anyway - I stacked my preferences in that order because: that's how I'd like them to be.
ie: to summarize my argument
1) Money - would mean I'd succeeded in creating a viral meme (ie story/book)
2) Critical acclaim - as, if this was first - it might imply I hadn't sold many copies
3) Personal satisfaction (this happens anyway when I write, ie without the above 2 criteria, so if the above 2 happened I'd also have more of this, but of a different kind.)
Anyway, all just my own take on the question...
But - what a great question!
Cheers
JoeTV
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Joined: 10/14/2012
Posts: 229
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Well, Let's assume none of us are starving or homeless, in which case priorities would naturally be very different.
And to say that if you get money, you'll get acclaim or that renown and fame would bring money or personal satisfaction is surely a cop out. One of the three, has to mean that the others do not follow........
I'd go with '1'
Personal pride and satisfaction could accompany dillusions... is self praise healthy, or of any use?
Money, well that would not be at all unpleasant.
Great acclaim and renown on the other hand, well that means your work is shared and loved. No point writing a masterpiece if it is never read. (If a tree falls in a forest and there is nobody to hear it.. etc.)
also what percentage of our money do we subconsciously spend on boubles to increase our status?
A twenty year old Lada will get you from A to B after all!
Acclaim chasing is no less shallow, but that's where I'd choose to paddle.
Groovy question, let's have another!
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Joined: 10/14/2012
Posts: 229
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Actually, I'm going to cheat and add a category, as a fallback so that I won't feel like a failure when I never attain wealth, noteriety or satisfaction with my creation.
My choice is now '4' whence instead of admitting to being a penniless, struggling, frustrated salesman,unappreciated in my own time; I can proudly boast that I am a penniless, struggling, frustrated writer, unappreciated in my own time..... It has a much more romantic ring to it, don't you think?
Also I can evolve as a person through my writing.... Already I'm anticipating the development of skin as thick as a jockey's arse from the review process.
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