There was a young man who, in his youth, expressed a desire to become a great writer. When asked to define “great,” he said,

“I want to write stuff that the whole world will read, stuff that people will react to on a truly emotional level. Stuff that will make them scream, cry, and howl in pain and anger.”

He now works at Microsoft, writing error messages.

Source: Weinberg, Gerald M.. Weinberg on Writing: The Fieldstone Method