Intro

I have previously written on some of the reasons why I became an author, but I wanted to share with you some more of the best things about being a writer. This is just a short list, but if you are on the fence about becoming an author then this might be beneficial for you.

I know there are many who dream of writing a book, but they always say that the time is just not quite right. They say maybe next year when things aren’t so busy. Then the next year rolls around and it is just as busy as the last and the dream of writing a book gets deferred again to the year after.

If you have been thinking about writing a book, my best advice is simply to get started. Sure there will be lots of things that you don’t know, but you can learn along the way. You don’t have to know everything when you first set out to write your book. Even people who have written a book don’t know everything about writing a book, so don’t be so hard on yourself saying that you don’t know enough.

Again, I know that this list might not be beneficial for everyone, but hopefully it will be beneficial if you have thought about becoming a writer.

1. You Get To Have A Hobby

There are plenty of good hobbies to choose from, some ranging from very cheap to very expensive. Some are easy to do anywhere while others require going to a specific location to enjoy the hobby.

Writing is one of the easiest hobbies to get into. There isn’t much that you need to get started. Just something to write with, and something to write on. That’s it. If you want you can use a pen and paper, a typewriter, or a computer. It doesn’t matter. They are all great ways to get your story out and all can be used effectively. You might have difficulties using a chisel and a stone tablet to write, but if this strikes your fancy, then by all means go for it.

Writing is also easy to do. You just put one word down after another. That’s it. If you are not happy with the way that it has turned out, then you can always go back an edit, but you can’t edit something that you haven’t written at all.

Writing can be done anywhere. If you are sitting in bed, or riding a bus, or even outside you can write. Other hobbies such as skiing can only be done in the mountains. It is hard to imagine what it would look like skiing in bed or while riding the bus. Since writing is not limited by location or time of day, it is very easily accessible to everyone.

Furthermore, there is a very supportive community of other people who are writers. They can be encouraging especially when just getting started and you aren’t sure of whether or not you are doing things correctly. Sure there are active communities for other hobbies as well, but this is just an added benefit of having writing as a hobby.

2. You Get To Tell Your Story

I have heard it said many times that everyone has a book within them. If you have a book within you, wouldn’t you want to get it out so that others could see it and learn from what you have to say.

There are many other ways that you can get your story out including doing podcasts or videos or even standing on a street-corner with a megaphone, but writing is one of the easiest ways to get your story out there.

If you have ever been to the library or the bookstore and thought that there was a book missing, then this would be your opportunity. You can write the book that you think is missing so that other people will be able to find it.

When I wrote my book, I had been toying with the idea for well over a year before I got serious with it and decided that I was going to publish it. Now that idea is out, I am free to run with other ideas that strike my fancy and I don’t have to worry about giving up the idea that I had because I never took the time to finish the story.

I fully believe that everyone has a story to tell, but only a few take the time to get the story out. These are the ones that become writers.

3. You Get To Share With More People

When writing my book, I knew that I wanted to have a way to share the message of Christ with others around me. I also know that my social media presence is dismal and that I hardly get any traction when it comes to my posts. Despite having over fifty posts on Instagram, I have less than sixty followers and usually get less than five likes on a post.

It is therefore difficult to imagine how my small audience would get me the outreach that I would like. When I wrote my book, I had small expectations of how many books I would sell or how many people would read it. Surprisingly, there have been almost 900 people who have ordered the book. This means that there are now almost 900 people who have a presentation of the gospel. Some will read it who are already believers, some will read it who aren’t and it won’t have an impact, but there are some who will see the message of Christ for the first time and a seed will be planted that gets them thinking about how this could possibly be true.

I will rejoice if I hear of even one person coming to know Christ from reading my book, and I know that the angels in heaven will rejoice as well. I have studied the Bible and have been able to discuss it in small audiences and have even been able to go on Mission Trips, but in both cases, the reach has been small. Though it has made a difference in the life of one or even a small community, there are many places that my book has been to that I never have. This is just one example of how a book can help to grow your reach.

4. You Can Read For Research

I am only slightly joking on this one. It can be interesting to think of reading some fiction book as research, but one of the best ways to get better at writing other than writing itself is by reading.

When reading, you get to see how other people have done things to make their stories better. This could be how they described something or even the way the characters talk with each other. Seeing how this is done can drastically improve your own writing.

You might be thinking, but what if the writing is bad? That’s perfectly okay. That just gives you the opportunity to learn how not to do something. Learning is still learning whether you learn what to do or you learn what not to do.

I have written several posts about why reading is important, including my post on 15 Benefits of Reading. In that article, I mention how you can learn from reading. While I didn’t mention specifically that you can learn to become a better writer, I did mention that you can learn. Learning to write better is just another benefit.

5. Increased Mental Clarity

I know that personally, I can have difficulties taking the ideas that are in my head and explaining them in words. However, when I take the time to write the things that I am thinking, I can better formulate what I am thinking. This helps it to not come out so much as a jumbled mess, but instead allows for deeper clarity of thought.

For many, this might mean taking the time to do daily journaling as it allows the opportunity to get the cares and worries of the day or the day previous out onto paper. When the ideas are out, it is easier to focus on the other things that are going on around us.

I have done journaling myself off and on for years, and I am always amazed by how much comes out onto the paper when I take the time to write it all down. It is also a great way to see any progress that is being made. When in the midst of a trying or difficult time, it can be hard to see how things can still be good, but if you have a journal, then you can go back and read to see how things used to be an be encouraged by how far you have come from where you used to be.

This kind of writing doesn’t have to be seen by anyone, and oftentimes, we hope that no one ever reads it. Just because you are writing in a way that you don’t want someone else to see doesn’t mean that you aren’t a writer. You might not be able to accomplish some of the other things that are benefits of writing, but it can give you the necessary mental clarity to be able to do the other things that you want to.

6. You Could Make Some Money

Alright, here’s one more as a bonus. This one might be the number one reason that some people turn to writing. There are very few, however, who can make a full time income with writing. That doesn’t mean that you can’t make at least a little bit of money.

You might only make $5 a month, but that means that you have money to go to Starbucks one extra time a month. If you don’t like Starbucks, then you can save up to buy that fancy new journal that you have been eyeing or that new book at the bookstore.

Even though it only makes a little money for most people, it is still nice that despite its low cost, there is still the ability to make some money and use it to reward yourself for a job well done.

I am not denying the fact that people can make full time incomes, but if you are just starting out, don’t be surprised if your book doesn’t become a best-seller. This is nothing against you, only that when you are just starting out, you don’t know what you don’t know, and your writing will show it. You will get better with each subsequent book. One piece of advice I have seen is that it takes roughly 20 books to get to $50k per year. This doesn’t happen over night, but with every book published, the amount that you can earn increases.

Conclusion

This is just a short list of the benefits of writing that you might not have ever thought about. If you liked this post on writing, then you might like some of the others that I have written on writing as well.

Five Reasons I Became an Author

Five Things I Learned Writing My First Book

Hopefully, if you had thought about becoming a writer then this will give you the added kick you need to get started. To recap, you can have a hobby, can tell your story, expand your reach, read for research, have better mental clarity and even make some money.

What do you think the best reasons for writing are? Please let me know in the comment below.