Reassessing what makes writing fun

My "real life" work has changed slightly.  I took on a new position (in addition to doing the jobs of my old one).  Overall, this has been a good thing.  It was a career move and I welcome the opportunities this new position will open up for me.

But as with all life changes it has forced me to rebalance other areas of my life, which includes writing.  I have become less and less focused on the business of writing and more viewing it as I used to view it before I got into publishing: as a hobby.  While I do suffer from the occasional pang of regret from not being able to publish as often as I used to, I have found that my enjoyment of writing and just my general free time has increased.

This has made me reassess what it was/is that actually makes writing fun for me.  I've come up with a list:


  • I enjoy getting lost in the world I've created.
  • I enjoy drawing story inspiration from daily experiences.
  • I enjoy thinking about the story I'm writing and contemplating plot challenges.
  • I enjoy the satisfaction of finishing a project.
I do enjoy making some side money from my writing.  That does make it feel rewarding.  But I think I've finally come to terms with the fact that a writing income truly is "passive income."  Yes, it helps to publish constantly.  But you'll make sales when you make sales.  Working an extra hour or two each day won't change anything.

But thinking over the rest of my list I realized that the rest of the things I like about writing are unrelated to money.  I am now focused on making writing "fun" again.  Not that it ever wasn't fun.  But just approaching it less like a business and going back to the roots.

So I've gone full circle, it seems!  I went from starting as a hobby writer to putting myself through the paces in order to become more business-like to going back to the hobby state.  But I think that's actually what makes writing so cool.  It is a lifelong learning process.  How you see the world during one decade may not be how you see the world in the next.

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