@Lyceumo asked whether we write for ourselves or for an audience. I agree with @KT77 , in that both are motivations. I write because I enjoy the creation of texts and I do pain over them. I consider them equal to my music: I enjoy the feeling of pride after listening back to the finished product that I have laboured over, but I want others to hear it as well. Oddly, I actually don't need to hear what they think; it is enough to just know that people have heard it. I am not saying that I don't like praise, but these creations are my babies and of course I want them admired as I stand by like a proud parent, but criticism hurts even more than direct criticism of me. The same goes for my writing. Music, art, literature, performance, they're all equal. All must be as close to perfection as the artist can accomplish, whatever that artist's vision of perfection is.
My advice to others? Don't click 'post' or 'send' until you are proud. If others enjoy your creation even a fraction, then that is the cherry on the icing on the cake. All else is enough to sustain you. If you are not proud, then all the praise in the world will leave you empty.
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