There is a certain stigma that surrounds hobbyist writing that can act as a type of writer’s block and even a barrier of entry or dissuasion from writing entirely, mainly a fixation on writing convention as a certification of “good” or “enjoyable” writing. You do not need to know every grammatical rule, you do not need to worry about word choice for every sentence and most importantly you do not need to begin writing with a clear vision of every development in your writing.
That last part may sound like a joke, after all, how could you write without a clear vision of the outcome? In professional writing, this is often a necessity. However, in hobbyist writing, you can write purely from what I like to call “passing thoughts”. Here’s an example: When you write in your own personal journal, you are not typically writing with a clear literary outcome in mind – you are writing to record how your day went. While that sounds literary, it can simply be a description of what you literally experienced, no additional information added. When you are writing that journal entry, you could possibly remember a certain discussion or event that you then on a spur of the moment add to your journal entry.
Journaling demonstrates that the essential component to enjoying writing is finding a purpose for writing, irrespective of external aesthetic standards. Put simply, if you care for what you are writing about, you will enjoy the process of writing. Of course, caring about what you are writing isn’t the totality of the issue, you still might worry about how you put said care into writing.
The question you may be asking is how do I avoid getting hung up on writing conventions? I recommend the following: When you first start a writing session, just write initially; let those “passing thoughts” flow onto the page. Do not hit the backspace key for any reason during this initial writing phase (maybe except for a typo). When you feel like your writing is “whole” or sufficient in its scope, then you can allow yourself to edit. Regardless, I dare you to make the least number of edits possible from one editing session to the next editing session. You will find that the write first, edit after method will train you to write intuitively and in accordance with your own interests. You will be left with authentic writing, an expression of yourself born from your own care and effort.
In a technical sense, you really do not need to be a professional writer to enjoy writing.
