Writing what you love vs. writing what is recommended

[Feo Takahari]

I'd argue that it's more reliable to write for a niche no one else has targeted than it is to write the same story a dozen other writers are writing. How can you be certain you'll be the best or the luckiest?

 

[Steerpike]

I'd argue that it's more reliable to write for a niche no one else has targeted than it is to write the same story a dozen other writers are writing. How can you be certain you'll be the best or the luckiest?

I think in general this is right, unless the reason no one has targeted the niche before is that there's no market there

 

[Christopher Wright]

I write what I like! If I want to spend a lot of time doing something I don't really want to do, I go to my day job!

 

[Philip Overby]

As actors sometimes say, "Do one for you and one for your bank account." If you can think that way with writing, you can have your cake and eat it too. No one says you have to always write in an attempt to target a market, but doing so every so often isn't going to hurt you, I don't think.

Overall, I'm in the "love" camp too though. Almost all successful authors will say "write what you love" and I think that's the best advice you can have. If you love what you do, it'll never feel like work, even if you make money at it.

 

[ccrogers3d]

I write what I like! If I want to spend a lot of time doing something I don't really want to do, I go to my day job!

Me, too! I write for the joy of sharing stories and characters I love. I'm sure it's different for people who need their writing to pay the bills, though.

 

[Helen]

IMO

If you're writing on spec, write what you love.

There will be plenty of other times when you're getting paid to write about something you're not really enthused about.

 

[Jabrosky]

I find the "write what you love" side much more appealing, but I have a problem: I'm one of those autistic people who obsesses over a small number of subjects. Almost all of my stories share common subject matter. For this reason I've had people call me a one-trick pony or monomaniacal. I wish I could simply ignore them, but then I can't be successful if I completely disregard other people's opinions.

 

[Weaver]

I find the "write what you love" side much more appealing, but I have a problem: I'm one of those autistic people who obsesses over a small number of subjects. Almost all of my stories share common subject matter. For this reason I've had people call me a one-trick pony or monomaniacal. I wish I could simply ignore them, but then I can't be successful if I completely disregard other people's opinions.

Yes, but is it everyone you know saying that, or only a few who would call anyone 'monomaniacal' simply for being interested in something?

Look at some of the novels written by famous and bestselling authors, and see how often they reuse the same themes and ideas and plots and characters over and over... Having a few things that you like to write about doesn't have to be a drawback. It gives your work focus, keeps you from going off in several directions at once (look at how many aspiring writers have trouble just deciding what to write about), and allows you to explore the variations and nuances of those few topics through the course of many stories.

 

[Rob]

Writing what you love could possibly turn out to be the recommendation of new writers. What I'm saying is, write what you love, don't stop writing what you love, and one day, you could turn out to be an established author. Most big time authors have always done it this way.

 

[Chessie]

I write what I like! If I want to spend a lot of time doing something I don't really want to do, I go to my day job!

Amen! The responses on this thread are great, I'm digging them. I also am in the love camp. Writing from our hearts is always rewarding.