What do writers need in order to write?

From left, authors Mary Gillgannon, Amanda Cabot and I
 visit with readers during a Barnes & Noble book signing.

In 1943, while Adolf Hitler was waging his reign of terror, Abraham Maslow was developing his theories on mental health and human potential. If Maslow had done research on someone with a disturbed psychology, perhaps he might have chosen Hitler. Instead, Maslow chose to study healthy, well-adapted individuals.

Because of his research, we now have a diagram called “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.” The bottom of the pyramid represents basic needs of survival, while the top levels represent what we need to personally flourish.

Maslow’s theory suggests that once people have met the basic needs of shelter, food, etc., they typically branch out to connect with others, then begin to achieve and accomplish in different areas. Now maybe this is a stretch, and I don’t have any fancy-schmancy college degrees that lend any credence to my meanderings, but I decided maybe I could translate those five levels of growth progression into what we need to grow as writers. 

A WRITER'S HEIRARCHY OF NEEDS

PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS

Maslow said that for people to survive, they must have basic needs met such as having access to food, water, sleep and air. 

For writers to survive, we first need something to write with; paper and pencil, typewriter, computer--that sort of thing. We need the basic tools to record our stories. Without these, we are dead in the water because our characters and plots will stay stuck in our heads forever, driving us crazy rather than (hopefully) entertaining the masses.  

SECURITY NEEDS

Next Maslow said people need safety, security and shelter to survive. 

Let's see...for a writer, at least at the beginning of our careers, before we start earning the big bucks, that would mean we need a day job to enable us to buy food and clothes, to maintain our homes and cars and to afford health insurance. Or that would mean maybe we are retired and have a steady pension that takes care of necessities. Or we may possibly have a significant other who provides financial stability so we can concentrate on building a writing career. Here's another possibility, and this is the most exciting to think about, maybe we inherited wealth or won the lottery, making us independently wealthy and enabling us to pursue writing without financial concerns. You get the idea. I think I also want to add that a writer needs a dedicated area to write in, such as a desk in the corner of the family room, a place at the kitchen table or maybe even our own office where we can focus on creating.

SOCIAL NEEDS

Maslow said social needs aren't as necessary as the physiological and security needs. However, once the first two needs are fulfilled, people begin to reach out for friendship, companionship and acceptance. 

For writers, I would say that at this stage we begin to connect through social networking sites dedicated to writing or we begin to join writers groups and attend meetings, attend writers conferences and possibly join critique groups so we can receive feedback, recognition and acceptance as recorders of the written word. We crave being with other writers, to feel the special energy that wordsmiths create and to hold discussions using the unique language known only by other authors.

ESTEEM NEEDS

Once the first three needs are satisfied, Maslow found that people needed to validate themselves by building their self-esteem.

For writers, at this point, we may feel confident enough in our writing that we begin to submit our work to writers’ contests where we will hopefully receive enough positive feedback to improve our scores, enabling us to eventually place in a contest or possibly even win. At this point, writers are probably confident enough to submit their work, weathering the rejections (albeit difficult), until eventually pieces begin to sell. Then, hallelujah, we begin to receive recognition for our contributions to the literary world.

SELF-ACTUALIZING NEEDS

At the top tier of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, this level happens when people are self-aware, concerned with personal growth, less concerned with the opinions of others and interested in fulfilling their potential. 

For writers, this is where the rubber really hits the road and we begin to spread our wings. We write to please our own muses, not someone else's muse. We challenge the boundaries of our imaginations; we take on more difficult plots and our characters become deeper. We have found our voices, and we are comfortable with our writing skills and what we know about the craft. This is where our writing seems to take on a life of its own. By the time we've reached the fifth level, we are only limited by our own imaginations. We strap on wings and let our writing soar. If we keep our gazes glued to the finish line, we have nowhere to go but up.

What do you need in order to write and why?