T K, this was a good read. I wanted to share a couple comments from my own experience, which isn't nearly as extensive as yours.
I appreciate what you shared about not quitting your job too soon. I'm not yet in a position to do this anyway. But, I'm also fortunate in that I have a job which is conducive for writing. Basically, any boring job! I've been a security guard with a computer and internet access making it possible to write while on duty. As long as my job got done. I also worked as a maintenance person who wasn't often called on to maintain anything. So, I wrote. But I love how you explained the benefits of side jobs that bring inspiration to our writing.
As for "putting yourself out there." I'm still learning what this means for me. I haven't learned how I best interact with/on social media. I don't particularly like the performative nature of selling my own work. I've worried less about doing this.
Last, I've noticed that a lot of online writing, my own included, is completely ego driven. I think I liked the idea of building a big online audience so I could avoid the work of learning to be a good writer. When I tried this, I lost myself a bit. When I gave it up, things began to trickle faster towards some of my goals. I don't know if that makes sense or not.
But, keeping my job and learning the value of work for no glory has helped me feel better about what I do.
Jeff - I think you've said it all, and articulated my arguments better than I managed to! But your thoughtful comment deserves a full reply. Firstly, I absolutely agree - ideally our day job helps inspire our writing, but often that's asking too much. What matters is that it takes the pressure off our writing and that it allows us to write at all. On the face of it, teaching is a good job for writers of children's books, because the writer is interacting with their target audience. However, teaching is so demanding that finding the actual time and energy to write is a challenge. So often, yes, the best jobs for a writer are often those like you've been doing, that give us some time and space and don't take too much out of us. Secondly, I absolutely sympathize about the social media thing. It's not a natural fit for me and I'm new to it and still finding my way. I don't like the performative aspect either. But what I'm finding, in actual fact, is that you can do it in a way that doesn't feel too much like self-promotion at all. I'm trying to see it as connecting with like-minded people, readers and writers, and viewed in that way it's actually becoming an enjoyable part of the creative process. Sharing stories and ideas is what I signed up for in the first place! Lastly, that's very well put about the egotistical nature of writing. We have to get the ego out the way, at least to a small degree, in order to write anything worth reading. 'Learning the value of work for no glory,' is about the best articulation of this I can imagine! It has to be about the process, not the results
Yes to all of that.
Thanks Simon!
Wow! I love how you guys balanced and held the duality so beautifully here.
Wow wow. Lots to marinate on, and very applicable. Thank you guys!!
T K, this was a good read. I wanted to share a couple comments from my own experience, which isn't nearly as extensive as yours.
I appreciate what you shared about not quitting your job too soon. I'm not yet in a position to do this anyway. But, I'm also fortunate in that I have a job which is conducive for writing. Basically, any boring job! I've been a security guard with a computer and internet access making it possible to write while on duty. As long as my job got done. I also worked as a maintenance person who wasn't often called on to maintain anything. So, I wrote. But I love how you explained the benefits of side jobs that bring inspiration to our writing.
As for "putting yourself out there." I'm still learning what this means for me. I haven't learned how I best interact with/on social media. I don't particularly like the performative nature of selling my own work. I've worried less about doing this.
Last, I've noticed that a lot of online writing, my own included, is completely ego driven. I think I liked the idea of building a big online audience so I could avoid the work of learning to be a good writer. When I tried this, I lost myself a bit. When I gave it up, things began to trickle faster towards some of my goals. I don't know if that makes sense or not.
But, keeping my job and learning the value of work for no glory has helped me feel better about what I do.
Jeff - I think you've said it all, and articulated my arguments better than I managed to! But your thoughtful comment deserves a full reply. Firstly, I absolutely agree - ideally our day job helps inspire our writing, but often that's asking too much. What matters is that it takes the pressure off our writing and that it allows us to write at all. On the face of it, teaching is a good job for writers of children's books, because the writer is interacting with their target audience. However, teaching is so demanding that finding the actual time and energy to write is a challenge. So often, yes, the best jobs for a writer are often those like you've been doing, that give us some time and space and don't take too much out of us. Secondly, I absolutely sympathize about the social media thing. It's not a natural fit for me and I'm new to it and still finding my way. I don't like the performative aspect either. But what I'm finding, in actual fact, is that you can do it in a way that doesn't feel too much like self-promotion at all. I'm trying to see it as connecting with like-minded people, readers and writers, and viewed in that way it's actually becoming an enjoyable part of the creative process. Sharing stories and ideas is what I signed up for in the first place! Lastly, that's very well put about the egotistical nature of writing. We have to get the ego out the way, at least to a small degree, in order to write anything worth reading. 'Learning the value of work for no glory,' is about the best articulation of this I can imagine! It has to be about the process, not the results
The piece was packed with good advice, loved it.
Other than that, I loved the way you used headings.