[gmw]

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

[...]I sing when no one can hear me too, and I dance when no one can see me, and I don't need compliments or praise in either of those scenarios to make it enjoyable.

I do these specifically where no one can see me, so that no one throws anything at me.

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

No. I'm just posing a hypothetical question: Would you write if you knew no one would ever read your book?

Probably - I do write to myself quite a lot: stuff explicitly not intended for other eyes. Given what they say about talking to yourself, I have wondered just what writing to yourself means. I tend not work so hard at redrafting any work not intended for others, though most of it does get some review.

I also write some software just for myself. I take photos for my own gratification. There's lots of things people do for their own enjoyment: I think it's sort of hardwired.

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

Yes, my books have been bought/downloaded. But if I believed I would never sell another book, or even be able to give one away, it would negatively impact my desire to write anything new. (And I refuse to believe I'm the only one who feels that way.)

It would certainly impact what I chose to write and how much work I put into refining it - probably negatively, although that's not necessarily certain. When I write what others may read it does effect what I put down, at least the way I might phrase it - and I am never sure whether this is good or bad, although sometimes it is certainly necessary.

However, I am sure you are correct: I suspect that there are many that would not write if the work would never be read. But few live in true isolation, and I suspect even just writing for a few friends and/or family would still inspire a great many to create.