A
Writer's
Work is Never Done.....
There's been a lot of production going on at my desk lately. I've completed the first draft of my play and am getting back to work on a Young Writer's Guide to accompany the workshops I do. Am currently finishing a second mystery and getting ready to market the first. It's a long story, but the cautionary part of it is to follow your instincts. If you think something isn't working the way it should, it probably isn't. Including editors and publishers.
A word to those writers who have crises of confidence, especially when you have only published a little or not at all. Treat yourself like the professional you want to be, and act that way as well. Nothing commands respect more than giving it yourself.
Writer, Do Your Job!
I've been thinking a lot about self-worth recently. And, while my thought processes may be a little off the wall, I don't think I am completely alone here, so I wanted to share them.
I've been job-hunting. Working on long fiction without a publishing contract and trying to college-educate children are not monetarily compatible. Although my wonderful husband has been supporting us all along, now I need to have some quick and steady income to supplement the family budget. I'm looking at part-time retail, because I don?'t want to diffuse my focus. Although, if I could get some writing assignments, say resumes or small business copy, that would be great, too. However, successful marketing for those is a full-time job in itself, so I'll probably stick to the mundane type of work.
It's a bit tough on the conscience and self-esteem, though. I'm plagued by questions. Am I better than that? Do I have a responsibility to do more than that, earn more than that? Should I be contributing to bettering the world in some faster, more concrete, notable way?
I'm not famous. I'm still working hard at the whole writing gig. I'm still a wife, a mother. We don't have much money, and most of my contributions to the world consist of giving advice, raising responsible children, and promoting creativity. So, since I have a brain and some talent and a degree in Sociology, should I be doing more?
That's when I remind myself why I write.
My goal really needs to be publishing my work. That is my forum, my way to contribute. That is my job. I can't give it up, and I shouldn't.
Sure it takes time. Sure it means doing that and holding a part-time job for ready cash.
Writing is rewarding in the same way social work and rearing children are. Each takes time, and the pay-off, the glory may be late in coming or, truthfully, may never come. It has to be done for the satisfaction it brings. It has to be done for the fulfillment of our responsibility to try to take our understanding of the world and share it with others.
If we are writers, it is our duty to write. That is how we leave our thumbprint on the world, how we contribute. Pursuing accomplishment in this field IS doing our job. And if success takes time, it takes nothing away from the nobility of the effort.
