There are heaps of reasons why people choose to be writers.

Some people have a story bursting out of them, and they won’t be satisfied until they’ve got it out on the page. Some people feel like they have something to say, and nothing is going to stop them from saying it.

Some of us spend so much time reading stories that it becomes a part of us, and we want to take that next step from consumers to creators. Others might feel like they’re searching for the story they want to read, and the only way to find it is to make it up themselves.

I have to admit there’s an element of all of these in my motivations for writing. But there’s something else. Something that’s possibly stronger than all of these other drivers. Something that not only motivates me to want to write, but also helps to define exactly what type of stories I’m going to produce.

It’s very simple to summarise: I want people to like me.

I don’t want to delve down into the psychological reasons for this. I don’t want to do some sort of psychoanalysis to try to explain how stuff that happened in the past has made me the way I am. All I can say is that fundamentally, deep down inside, I have a very strong urge to want people to like me.

So how does this manifest itself? Firstly, in the fact that I write stories that I want people to like. I try to make them easy and fun to read. That’s not to say I shy away from more serious issues. I don’t (at least I think I don’t). I just try to find ways to express them in such a way that they fit in with the tone of the stories.

Another way this particular aspect of my personality comes out is that I like to make people laugh. After all, being funny is one of the best ways to get people to like you (as long as the laughs aren’t coming at those people’s expense), and trying to make people laugh is something I’ve been doing since I was a little kid. Some of my stories are funnier than others, but I like to think that all of them will have some sort of laugh factor. I can’t imagine writing something that doesn’t.

It’s funny though, because you might think this character trait would make being a writer a really unsuitable occupation for someone like me. After all, putting stories out into the world can be risky. There’s no telling what sort of negative responses you may get back. And I’ve certainly received my share of less than favourable reviews. But do you know what? I don’t mind so much. Sure I like the warm fuzzy glow of the good reviews much better but I can live with the bad ones. So I guess while it’s true that I want to be liked, I don’t feel like I need to be liked by absolutely everybody.

Have a good (and likable) week.

If you want to see an example of one of my likeable stories for yourself, you can download Doodling for free right here.