Intrinsic Rewards of Writing

Much is said about dedication to writing and the need to succeed. Writers are buried in advice to write daily, push past rejection, keep a writing project in the hopper at all times, and strive toward ever higher goals of publishing. But little is said about the enjoyment of writing. Instead, writers are encouraged to approach writing like a business and discipline themselves accordingly. So much emphasis is placed on the end results of publication and monetary reward that very little time is spent exploring the experience of writing, the process and the joy that provide writing's intrinsic rewards. This seems counterintuitive when recognizing that creativity comes from a deep inner well that does not need outside validation. The act of doing the thing you love is validation and reward enough. It is because you love it so much that you can't imagine a life not doing it. You do it because you want to with every fiber of your being, not because you feel you have to for someone else. I think much of the extrinsic rewards of writing such as publication and monetary gain would be much more readily accessible for writers if they paid more attention to the intrinsic rewards and the pure joy of the act of writing. Getting in touch with why they write and celebrating that will both improve their writing and their experience in producing it. That seems like a win-win situation to me.