"Writers don’t write for writers. They write for readers."

Very true, though I would add that writers cannot help but write. I remember when Grandma Moses had her painting supplies taken away from her for her own safety. I was too young to understand the challenge of dementia at the time, but I was still heartbroken for her. How would I feel if all my avenues for writing - pen, keyboard, or even typewriter - were taken away from me? That day may still come, and I fear it.

Those who write for a living, who write for the readership, are the true professionals. But there are many who write because we must, sometimes to expunge past sins and horrors, at other times to pass on lessons that might be seen by a reader destined for greatness, that our work might influence her for the better. And most of us hope that like Van Gogh, even if no one knows our names in this life, many generations to come will appreciate the work into which we poured our hearts and souls.

Writing is a gift and a curse, but we would have it no other way.