Making my living as a writer which is also my creative passion has definitely been a balancing act and the section about the value of getting a non-writing job to pay the bills resonates. It usually hasn’t been right for me to do but at times it has. Flexibility and creativity around how we keep working and writing is key.
Great post! I freelance as a content writer, which I find gives me time to work on personal writing projects. However, I need to get out and about whenever I want a bit of inspiration - and I’ve learned to treat my job as completely separate to any writing I do for fun. I think job titles are a tricky issue - how can you tell someone about everything you do in just one title? :) thank you for sharing
I think your method of keeping your professional writing separate to your "fun" writing is a great idea! As a creative, I think the last thing you want is to use up all your energy on your work writing, so it's a great idea to get out and get inspired to work on your own projects : )
I think these are all ideas I will be returning to in the coming weeks! Thank you for commenting : )
Congratulations on this new series, Kate, and also on your return to a job you love. I agree with you, Stephen King's "On Writing" is mesmerizing, outrageously generous, and wonderful for writers to encounter. He graciously shows how real life can be navigated with the hard work of writing, and how even the struggle of all of it can lead to great work and great life. Looking forward to these essays!
I feel like I want to become a full-time writer, but at the same time I do wonder if it would take out the fun out of it. Once I HAVE to write to make a living maybe I won’t enjoy it as much. Who knows? I guess I’ll just see where it takes me.
Thank you for your comment, Luiza. I think your idea of seeing where the writing takes you is the best way. Also, I think sometimes you have to try something to see whether it works for you. It's all about experimentation, I think.
Congratulations on returning to the career path that feels right for you! I’ve been through a very similar struggle, first as a new grad who craved the cachet of a job in publishing, then as a freelancing at-home mom who got asked “oh, so what does your husband do then?” as a follow-up question, and finally as a proposal writer - a high-stress “writing” job that was more about copying, pasting, and editing fantastically boring prose that left me with no time or desire to write for myself.
It’s very hard to ignore others’ opinions on how you make your living (others who aren’t directly concerned, I mean). I improved greatly in this area after I turned 40 but haven’t quite mastered it yet!
Thank you, Rosalynn! And yes, ignoring others' opinions is a constant difficulty...as you say, as you get older I think you maybe become a little better at it. Your work life is really interesting, as you've combined work roles with writing roles, so must have experienced a lot of these concerns.
Thanks, Kate! It was a bit of a detour this week, but it felt relevant to what we do here. I totally agree with you about how we respond to others depending on how we're feeling with our writing and identity at the time.
I really enjoy the way you share your personal stories with us here. I've faced these questions as well, although I sometimes wonder if they are more my questions than those of others? I mean, definitely the confusion or ignorance of some is clear. :) But at the same time, I think I only let it get to me when I'm feeling a little unclear myself of my direction or identity. What a great first post in the series -- looking forward to the rest!
Making my living as a writer which is also my creative passion has definitely been a balancing act and the section about the value of getting a non-writing job to pay the bills resonates. It usually hasn’t been right for me to do but at times it has. Flexibility and creativity around how we keep working and writing is key.
Absolutely, and I think it sometimes depends on what "season" of life you're in, too, if that makes sense. Thank you for reading and commenting!
Absolutely makes sense.
Great post! I freelance as a content writer, which I find gives me time to work on personal writing projects. However, I need to get out and about whenever I want a bit of inspiration - and I’ve learned to treat my job as completely separate to any writing I do for fun. I think job titles are a tricky issue - how can you tell someone about everything you do in just one title? :) thank you for sharing
I think your method of keeping your professional writing separate to your "fun" writing is a great idea! As a creative, I think the last thing you want is to use up all your energy on your work writing, so it's a great idea to get out and get inspired to work on your own projects : )
I think these are all ideas I will be returning to in the coming weeks! Thank you for commenting : )
Congratulations on this new series, Kate, and also on your return to a job you love. I agree with you, Stephen King's "On Writing" is mesmerizing, outrageously generous, and wonderful for writers to encounter. He graciously shows how real life can be navigated with the hard work of writing, and how even the struggle of all of it can lead to great work and great life. Looking forward to these essays!
Thank you! Yes, King's book blew me away when I first read it and I've returned to it a few times since. Glad you enjoyed the post!
I feel like I want to become a full-time writer, but at the same time I do wonder if it would take out the fun out of it. Once I HAVE to write to make a living maybe I won’t enjoy it as much. Who knows? I guess I’ll just see where it takes me.
Thank you for your comment, Luiza. I think your idea of seeing where the writing takes you is the best way. Also, I think sometimes you have to try something to see whether it works for you. It's all about experimentation, I think.
Congratulations on returning to the career path that feels right for you! I’ve been through a very similar struggle, first as a new grad who craved the cachet of a job in publishing, then as a freelancing at-home mom who got asked “oh, so what does your husband do then?” as a follow-up question, and finally as a proposal writer - a high-stress “writing” job that was more about copying, pasting, and editing fantastically boring prose that left me with no time or desire to write for myself.
It’s very hard to ignore others’ opinions on how you make your living (others who aren’t directly concerned, I mean). I improved greatly in this area after I turned 40 but haven’t quite mastered it yet!
Thank you, Rosalynn! And yes, ignoring others' opinions is a constant difficulty...as you say, as you get older I think you maybe become a little better at it. Your work life is really interesting, as you've combined work roles with writing roles, so must have experienced a lot of these concerns.
Really enjoyed this, just finished listening. It’s a very personal piece that really shows how many different routes to fulfil your writing goals.
Thank you! : )
Thanks, Kate! It was a bit of a detour this week, but it felt relevant to what we do here. I totally agree with you about how we respond to others depending on how we're feeling with our writing and identity at the time.
I really enjoy the way you share your personal stories with us here. I've faced these questions as well, although I sometimes wonder if they are more my questions than those of others? I mean, definitely the confusion or ignorance of some is clear. :) But at the same time, I think I only let it get to me when I'm feeling a little unclear myself of my direction or identity. What a great first post in the series -- looking forward to the rest!