I think if we removed the monetary incentives, we’d see fewer writers overall. But part of me believes that third places like coffee shops or community spaces could help fill that gap. Imagine a local coffee shop hosting a monthly creative writing group. That kind of setting could encourage people to write purely for the joy of it. A few years ago, a friend of mine was part of a small writing group that read short stories together and offered feedback. It wasn’t about publishing or profit—it was just about writing. And honestly, I think that’s the way forward.
I think there is some lost art of doing things just to enjoy them. Just writing because you want to say something is valuable, even if it’s not meant to have a direct ROI for a specific goal.
Maybe if there were less current encouraging people to create for monetary reasons, people would be more likely to create?
I think if we removed the monetary incentives, we’d see fewer writers overall. But part of me believes that third places like coffee shops or community spaces could help fill that gap. Imagine a local coffee shop hosting a monthly creative writing group. That kind of setting could encourage people to write purely for the joy of it. A few years ago, a friend of mine was part of a small writing group that read short stories together and offered feedback. It wasn’t about publishing or profit—it was just about writing. And honestly, I think that’s the way forward.
I think there is some lost art of doing things just to enjoy them. Just writing because you want to say something is valuable, even if it’s not meant to have a direct ROI for a specific goal.
Maybe if there were less current encouraging people to create for monetary reasons, people would be more likely to create?