Writing for Yourself
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The pleasure of writing for yourself- Kafka once observed that taking notes was the only way for him to live, as it helped him survive the monotony of the everyday. Likewise, Flaubert said that you should write for yourself alone, so as to relish the pleasure of being both yourself and someone else. Oscar Wilde joked that he never traveled anywhere without his diaries so that he’d always have something entertaining to read. All of which are different ways of saying that the simple act of taking notes is a way of staging a more rich existence both with the world and with yourself. It’s a simple analogue pleasure, and one that can last you a lifetime. So if you’re reading this, maybe it’ll make you want to pick up a notebook and start taking notes of your own today.
"Flaubert said that you should write for yourself alone, so as to relish the pleasure of being both yourself and someone else."
Yes! I think it was Amy Tan who said: "You are the first reader of everything you write. You should please that reader." Permission to go ahead and enjoy our own writing :-)
And, to let your writing surprise you! Many say they don't know what they actually think until they start writing. Then it appears on the page. If that is true...Who is the one doing the writing?
I like to think of it as an inner friend, an imaginary playmate, if you will. Someone a little more fun and creative than my everyday serious adult self. Maybe children understand this better?
Thanks, Julian!