Dans mon terrier

While in general it's valid for any hobby, especially in our age of content-creation grinding and constant seeking of validation, the advice feels like it deeply misunderstands and dismisses natural human motivations.

Now that I'm older and have a lot of other priorities I just don't have the time or inspiration to write as much. So in my case, it is purely the engagement (the comments people leave) that motivates me to dedicate the time and mental effort to finish a fic. It has nothing to do with whether I like writing or am writing for myself - I can scribble a quick sentence, talk about a plot idea with a friend, but taking the time out to actually refine that and share it is done purely for the interaction and feeling of belonging to a community and getting feedback.

So yes, doing something purely for the sake of getting attention from others is a dangerous slope towards unhappiness and lack of satisfaction, especially for younger people who hinge a lot on that validation, but there is a lot of nuance before we even get to that point and it's counterproductive to dismiss the encouragement and joy that people get out of those interactions.

Not all writers are the idealized, passionate type whose soul cries out if they can't put their ideas on a page. They might have the inner motivation to write no matter who reads it. The rest of us might need a little external motivation.

A fish out of water

Scully: they're shipping us

Mulder: to where

I adore Lord ghadius Shoes in that old beta design of his...

I sometimes wonder if Joka ever tried to cheer up Ghadius with the colourful attacks ..

Parts of a WIP.

Baby soldiers taking a nap.