"There are Too Many Novels, and Too Many People Writing Them"

Writer Javier Marías lists seven good reasons not to write novels:

There are too many novels and too many people writing them.

Because anyone...can write a novel, it is an activity that lacks merit and mystery.

Writing a novel certainly won’t make you rich.

The novel is no guarantee of fame.

The novel does not bring immortality.

Writing novels does not flatter the ego, even momentarily.

Other: suffering, isolation, sacrifice of a normal life, etc.

In other words, writing a novel is a highly inefficient means of achieving worldly ends such as riches and fame.

Even those who scribble occasionally (cough)---though much, much less than professional writers and novelists---soon come to the realization that their limited talents make writing, like playing music or sports, an activity to be enjoyed for its own sake. For true writers, however, an audience of one is all they need.