I read about an old experiment and now I have a question (for you) about your writing.
Happy Friday,
Crazy but true. In the early 60’s, Desmond Morris bought a bunch of canvas and paints and gave them to some chimps. Morris is a zoologist and author who wrote about his studies with primates and humans.
The chimps loved painting so much they lost interest in pretty much anything else. Sometimes, they were so engrossed in painting, they even forgot to eat.
It was fascinating to watch, he said.
Like, if he tried to take a canvas away when he thought a painting was done, the chimps would push his hand away. As if they were saying they weren’t done. Only “they” knew when it was done.
They’d hold up a canvas, look at it, then add more paint.
It was all abstract art, of course. lol. But they were making what pleased them, and having so much fun doing it they didn’t want to do much else.
Then he introduced “rewards” — and it all went to hell.
As soon as he started “paying” the chimps for finished art, their work began to degenerate. It happened so fast, he was stunned.
They’d look around to see what other chimps were getting rewarded for.
They’d look around to see how little they had to do to get a reward.
In his book, The Biology of Art, he told the story of one chimp who put a mark on a canvas and held it out to see if it was “enough” to get a reward. He shook his head no. So the chimp added more paint and held it out again. They went on that way until finally the chimp got his reward.
The saddest change, he said, was that in the first phase, the chimps seemed to take pride in the art. In the second phase, the pride was in the reward.
Children reacted the same way... and they could talk.
After the chimp experiment, he did the same thing with a group of children.
First he just let them paint. And they did. Just for the sheer joy of it. So happy with unlimited canvas and paints and they just dived in and created.
Then came the rewards part — and once again, it all went to hell.
The difference was that the children could verbalize. And wow, did they ever.
The copycatting began instantly. The kids thought they should be painting what they saw other kids painting.
When he told them to paint whatever they want, they argued back. Said they thought they should paint what they saw other kids getting the biggest rewards for. They said it made them feel stressed out to compare their work to other kids’ work.
Some of them looked around to see how little they had to do to get the rewards. It went from wild variety to a whole lot of copycat. Also, kids doing the bare minimum so they could churn out more to get more rewards. More, more!
They complained wildly about who was earning rewards, what earned rewards, and why they weren’t earning the same rewards as someone else.
Didn’t matter how much he explained effort and originality, they were stressed out and disgruntled with the whole process.
Sounds like writers on Medium, doesn’t it?
Knowing the difference…
It’s fascinating to look at common behavior between chimps and humans.
But children don’t pay the bills.
It’s real easy to “write what pays” when bills never stop flowing and money is how we keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. I get that.
But, I think there’s merit to recognizing when we’re proud of the work itself, and when we’re proud of how much it earned. Neither is wrong. Just different.
So I’m curious.
What have you written that you’re proud of? And why?
Hope you’ll share. Feel welcome to link so I can go read. :)
I’ve shared mine, below…
3 stories I’m proud of, and why…
The Pied Piper Was Real: 130 Children Disappeared and Never Came Back
This was a bizarre story I wrote out of my own curiosity. But then so many people loved it, it floated up into my top 5. I love when I chase my own weird curiosities only to find others who are happy to come along for the ride.
Real Dating Advice From A 1938 Magazine. Omg, the pics.
I found an old magazine and the pictures were so funny I had to share. I used to write about feminism a lot, but the comments wear me out. The comments were so much fun it made the story itself one of my favorites.
“It Wasn’t A Boy Or Girl,” He Said. “And I Think I Made A Mistake”
This one is a true story and I don’t know if I can find the words to tell you why it is one of my favorites. If you read it, maybe you’ll understand.
P.S. If you’re reading this in email, click the title to get to the online version where you can leave comments, like on Medium.
xo,
Linda
Being a writer of computer software, my written word pieces have been exceedingly few and far between. Before leaving Medium I published only one piece that got less than 100 reads. I do have a couple of pieces that I am proud of though. My first (and only) published work I wrote at the age of 16. It appeared in a fairly obscure magazine devoted to the tropical fish hobby. It did not pay anything, and they spelled my name wrong, but at that age I was overwhelmed just to be in print. My second piece, entitled "The Duck", was written nearly 40 years ago. It was a tale of a family pet that left a lasting impression. I spent several weeks writing it, editing endlessly. Finally I submitted it to The Saturday Evening Post, which was the only publication I thought it might appeal to. I had no expectation of fame or fortune, and was not at all surprised by the rejection letter that came back with the manuscript. It was the usual "does not meet our needs at this time" sort of thing, but handwritten on the manuscript were the words "Liked your story". I've kept it all these years just because of that. I've also given digital copies of the text to my sons, who have shared it with my grandchildren, so I guess in a way it's a family heirloom. Their delight means more to me than any money that might have come from it. The third piece was a eulogy for my mother-in-law, whom I dearly loved. I cried all through the writing of it, and even tear up now just thinking about it. I couldn't read it at the funeral, and asked a family friend to do it. Even the most stoic of the men attending shed a few tears. I felt then, and now, like I had captured the remarkable woman that she was.
Rewards for writing aren't just monetary. There's also the endorphin rush of approval metrics. On Medium, that would be reads, claps, highlights, comments, etc. Many online writers find the social approval stats more motivating than the money.
This is also why I've decided to never monetize my main blog (I look at the stats, but try not to take them so seriously that they'll turn into my motivation). My main blog is the place where I want to write & publish for the sake of writing & publishing.
I've linked it in a comment before, but I'm still proud of it, so I'll link it: https://medium.com/mind-cafe/to-diminish-defensiveness-read-1000-book-reviews-d3cbf525a656
Why am I proud? First of all, I'm proud that I read over a thousand reviews for a single book, lol. I'm also proud that I found a deeper psychological insight than I expected among Amazon reviews.