I don’t think JK Rowling should stop writing novels.

But I do sometimes wonder how she motivates herself.

It can’t be the money any more, if it ever was.

It must be because she loves telling stories.

And of course there are millions of people who love reading her stories.

I think if any of us were getting that level of validation for a given activity we would carry on with it. I sometimes think that the craving for recognition is all that any of us really want. And by recognition, all I mean is the recognition that we have something to say, something that touches or resonates with another human. That our message has been received.

Success equals validation. Validation equals connection, a feeling that you are part of the world and have something to contribute to it.

The opposite of all that is a rather lonely feeling. After all, what’s more likely to make an author stop writing would be the sense that no one’s reading their books, so why bother. (I know – I’ve been there!)

Mind you, it’s funny how little validation most of us writers can get by on. A friend urging us to write another book. A glowing review from a complete stranger. Someone somewhere buying our book, or even just borrowing it from the library.

That’s enough to get the story juices flowing.

So, yes, when you get your validation delivered daily by a convoy of articulated lorries, it’s going to take more than one dissenting voice to make you stop.