What I've learned writing on Vocal

It should never be about the money. If you enjoy writing enough, it is a perk to get paid for it. But you need to care about your work.

My first article on Vocal was personal and emotional. The topic of being abused, especially at a young age, was not something I thought I would want to post online. I still don't know if I should have done it, but there's no going back now. I've worked to get more of an online presence so that my work can be viewed so that I can eventually work my way into becoming more known as a writer. The internet and its working were not what I wanted to consider at first. I always thought it was actually the last place I should go. "Just stick to writing on paper and showing your friends and family". What a crazy thought.

After having written the article and conversing with different people not only about the subject matter of my first article, but many other topics, I've actually grown knowledgeable of what it has shown me. Now, I'm 28, so it's not like I wasn't aware of what an online presence could do. It is of that knowledge that I always chose to avoid the internet profiles. It terrified me to think about how vast the internet is, and I though, I don't want millions and millions to learn something so personal about my past. Here's the thing though...

Millions of view simply won't happen from the get go.

I've known of a significant amount of people who jumped into the wonderful world of the web and assumed they were going to get that immediate recognition they've always longed for. The story of the overnight celebrity status they might catch but for writers and bloggers was the constant example of how it was their turn to shine. Well, suffice it to say those people aren't writing on the web anymore. They aren't pursuing an online presence like they did after they realize this is a significant work. And it is. And it is so worth it.

Writing online, blogging, vlogging, streaming, reviewing. These are all things that take a significant amount of effort and pursuit to make it worthwhile in the long run. Most people aren't interested in putting in the work. That's how the good ones get filtered out from the incapable. The ones who immediately expect to be compensated and appreciated for their 'presence' quickly move out of that obnoxious steam that gives them the empty motivation to do something that they don't care about. If this is something you don't care about, then you shouldn't be doing it.

Now, I'm not saying you have to be in love with writing articles online, or YouTubing, or whatever it is you might be doing. I'm sure a significant amount of them do it as a hobby. But there must be some investment from you to want to continue doing it, whether simply to pass the time, or because you enjoy it and don't care to make a dollar off it. Caring enough to do it means actually enjoying doing it.

For myself, writing here has brought me a fleeting bit of closure as well as a new, reinvigorated passion for writing. Of course, it's not my end goal to write online. I'm hoping to one day become a filmmaker. Writing and directing smaller work where I can. Not the Hollywood type filmmaker. I wanted to build my own production company for people like me who have the drive and the skill to become a filmmaker, but don't always have the means.

Something I've wanted since high school is to create a group that helps each other out for work, and that doesn't try to turn things into a status or game of money. I love film for the art. And the same goes for writing. I'm just hoping that people who try this sort of thing out and have a drive for it doesn't give up easily. Nothing worth working for is never simple. I just hope others like me learn to keep moving forward.