Why am I Even Writing?

3 min read

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Why do I write?
I often ask myself, why do I write?

I’m not a great writer. After three years of consistently writing on this blog and other platforms, I’ve graduated from being a terrible writer to an OK writer based on the fact that some of you read my blog posts and comment on them and send me follow-up emails on occasion.

But this writer’s journey has been odd, weird, awkward, challenging, rewarding, and downright frustrating.

The question, however, that I often find myself asking is this:

Why do I even write?

When I started this blog, the goal was simple—create a side income stream.

Three years later, I’m doing more than that. I’m no millionaire, but I’m making enough where the earning from this side-blogging hustle has now surpassed my earning when I had a full-time job or when I freelanced full-time. In fact, I’ve now transitioned into being a full-time graduate student again, all thanks to this blog + associated gigs like selling Canva templates, online courses, etc.

So, the answer to why I write is simple. It is to make money so I can pay rent and bills.

I know what some of you’re thinking.

What about helping people?

Of course, the goal of writing or any kind of work is to somehow be helpful to others; that’s the only way to make money after all. If what you create doesn’t help others, they don’t buy from you, and you don’t make money. So let’s take the hypocrisy out of the equation, shall we? We’re all in this because we have something to gain. And we help others because that’s the way to help ourselves. Anybody who tells you otherwise is a phony.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like we don’t do things other than for the sole purpose of making money. We do. In fact, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs explains this phenomenon perfectly well. Once our basic needs are met (food, water, rest, safety, security), we move onto things like fame, accomplishments, hobbies, etc.

But truth be told, my writing has gone beyond this blog, and I’m often at a loss for the basis for this.

For example, I’ve been writing non-stop near garbage on Medium for the past two months, and I have no idea why.

Is it for the money? — that sounds great, but 1) I don’t make enough money on Medium to justify writing there 2) I don’t need the money. I’d likely make more if I use that time to make new Canva templates and publish more blog posts here…

Is it fame? — as an introvert and a private person, that’s the one thing I know I do not need nor want.

Do I just enjoy writing? — hmm… that’s hard to say. Now, how you define enjoyment varies from person to person, of course. Going to college for engineering was beyond frustrating for me, but yes, I did enjoy it, or at least, I enjoyed it when my hard work paid off, I was able to solve a difficult problem, etc. That makes me wonder; perhaps I enjoy being frustrated? Now that’s interesting, isn’t it? That goes beyond masochism; that’s just crazy. But somehow, writing feels a lot like engineering to me. There’s no denying that. Maybe that’s why I could never give up on either?

Because really, if it’s money we’re talking about, then writing on this blog alone would have been sufficient. This blog is the money-maker, after all. But the fact that I keep writing on Medium and other platforms must be because, per Maslow’s chart, writing satisfies some other type of need in me. If it’s not money or fame, then it must be some form of self-actualization.

Honestly, I still don’t have an answer to this question. But I continue to write, hoping that the answer will present itself one of these days.

All I can do now is hope that on my deathbed, I do not look back at the hours I spent stringing words together to form sentences and paragraphs and think what a waste it all had been.

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4 thoughts on “Why am I Even Writing?”
  1. I love reading the stuff you write, I do think you’re a great writer, your voice really shines through in a clear, unique way which is always nice, even when it’s just a how to post or something it’s more enjoyable reading yours than anyone else’s. You’re kind of living out my dream, I hope one day I can run a successful blog like this!

    1. Maliha profile Photo

      Thanks, Deanna, you made my day! Good luck with the blog, you can get there too if you stick with it and don’t give up 🙂

  2. Hi, Maliha,
    Sounds like your side hustle is doing well. Congrats! As to the question you pose: Why do I write? I posit that possibly you enjoy a challenge. For most of my life I have loved to learn, and have realized over time that the root cause for this love affair is that I love a challenge! I love to be called to rise to the occasion, give my best, and see how it goes! Even if I “fail”, I WIN, for I will have learned more than if I had not tried at all. And I agree with the thought about self-actualization. It feels rewarding to know someone out there likes what you have to say enough to keep coming back. 😉 Best wishes!
    PS. My website is still not set up correctly; shows a Coming Soon page.

    1. Maliha profile Photo

      Thanks, Julie. I might like a challenge too… sometimes 😉 But it’s a great personal quality to love learning new things; good for you! Congrats on the new site! If it’s showing a coming soon page, that’s likely some plugin or setting on WordPress. All the best wishes with everything you’re doing, and thank you so much for the comment! Appreciate it 🙂

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