Arthur Schopenhauer: There Are Only Two Kinds Of Writers

Write your truth

Writing is difficult because it requires thinking. When people say, “I don’t know what to write,” it often means they haven’t spent enough time to formulate their ideas. Or sometimes, we try to write something we don’t really believe in.

Many years ago, I started writing fiction. But like most people who try to write, I had no idea where to start or what to say. The truth was I just liked the idea of writing fiction. I didn’t truly believe in the story I tried to write. So it never amounted to something.

For years, I didn’t understand why I couldn’t write fiction. But when I read an essay on writing by Arthur Schopenhauer, the German pessimist, it finally clicked. He wrote:

“There are above all two kinds of writers: those who write for the sake of what they have to say and those who write for the sake of writing. The former have had ideas or experiences which seem to them worth communicating; the latter need money and that is why they write — for money.”

While most of us like to believe we write because we have something to say, the…