Writers as artists are often perceived as an eccentric lot. They view things from a more imaginative perspective and their inner lives are far from average.

This eccentricity is what helps them keep going, especially when the going gets tough. Writers who tackle full-length novels do not live in a complete state of realistic expectations when it comes to their work. Call them deluded, but unless a writer sees his work as the next great American novel and that it will put his name in the annals of literature, what motivation does he have to keep going? A writer needs to believe, even with uncertainty, that his book will find an audience who will laud him for his masterpiece, and that the media will celebrate him as the next literary sensation.

Nowadays, we are told to set realistic goals, so that we don’t fall hard if things don’t work out for us. This may be sound advice, but that spike of delusion is necessary for a writer who is unpublished and has yet to establish himself. The odds are all against the unpublished writer. No one believes and trusts him for his skill is unproven. He is unpublished and perhaps has already tasted rejection from publishers and editors. Even if our present age provides self-publishing opportunities, the road to fame and success is still not easy. With the writer competing with other self-published writers for an audience, he will need to learn new skills like marketing for his work to stand out. The introverted writer must get out of his comfort zone.  

People who do not understand the vocation of writing will often ask him what book he has recently published or about a particular novel he has written. The writer shrinks in embarrassment because his novel is still in progress and he is unpublished.

The writer from time to time must console himself with the necessary delusion of greatness—and that he will overcome the odds as many writers have gone through before they became famous. This delusion fuels his passion to keep writing, to prove to others that he has what it takes. He must continue to believe that his talent will find a home, that he will receive a six-figure advance for his work, be selected by major book clubs, and win the Booker Prize and the Pulitzer Prize. The writer who thinks of nothing but the difficulties surrounding his chosen path will grow depressed and discouraged.

He will continue to read about the success stories of other writers to get inspired and to emulate them. At times, he can even become critical and believe that he can create better novels.

The writer, of course, is setting realistic goals. But this element of daydreaming that permeates his consciousness helps him to articulate his motive to write. While he understands that he needs to flow with the norm, it doesn’t hurt to want greatness. It is this healthy delusion that keeps his sanity intact and drives him to make lemonade when life throws him lemons.