To Write or Not to Write… That is the Question

A philosophical discussion of internal vs external validation

Original illustration by Author using public domain photos.

Regardless of whether you are new to this site, have a massive following, or have written bestsellers, all of us struggle at times to find meaning through our writing.*

QUESTION: if people don’t read my writing what is the point?

One of my favorite writers, Tom Mitchell (who had 5 K followers at the time), once wrote a comment to Hilal Isler, (now over 12 K followers):

Because I don’t see the point of writing unless it’s read, I am wondering if logic dictates that I should quit writing.

In response, a talented newbie, Denise Smith, wrote back, trying to encourage him to keep writing:

Hi Tom. It is SO frustrating to write and love what we wrote and put it out there…and feel like it has disappeared!

Yet. I mean, you just know I’m going to quote “if a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it…” at you, right?

I started to write a brief response to reassure Denise that her writing had meaning — regardless of whether it seemed to have…