As writers I think our primary goal is to tell a good story.

When I set out to start writing a book with a serious purpose of trying to get published my motivation was the story. I wanted to write the story I wanted to read. I couldn’t find the book I wanted to read either online or in a library so I decided to write it myself. I think the majority of writers can say the same, they write the story they would want to read. I think its a little mercenary to write what you think the audience wants to read, in that respect your work will suffer because there will always be some who don’t like it for one reason or another and even within your targeted audience there will be some you failed to reach. The old adage applies, you can’t please all of the people all of the time.

All of that having been said, something happened to me recently that made me sit up and think. I read a post from an author I follow on Instagram where she said on a visit to a school she was greeted by a pupil who had waited years for an author to come talk to them. This young woman sat by the author throughout her visit, fawned on her every word and listened to her advice. This young woman had longed to be a writer and with this visit she finally received the inspiration to go ahead and chase her dreams. Since then the two of them have kept in contact, the author reads the poetry sent her by the young woman who went on to college on a creative writing course which I have no doubt will give her the tools she needs to succeed in her dream of being a writer.

To be inspired like that is wonderful and I was inspired to write action filled books after I read Ice Station by Matthew Reilly, that book changed my life. I finally found the book I wanted to read.

As writers our primary goal is to tell a good story but maybe it goes beyond that too. If we can inspire young minds to do something in life, to chase the dreams we all have lurking deep in the dark recesses of our minds then perhaps we will have made their lives a little better. Hopes and dreams are what life is about, without them all we have left is reality.