Because It Matters To Me
March 23, 2011
I want to thank y'all for being my unpaid psychiatrists. Yes, I've been going through a somewhat cyclical angst about writing fiction. I'm sure most of you have the reaction of, "Yes, yes, yes, uh-huh, now, how about your mother?"
Partly this has to do with all the changes in the publishing industry; some of it has to do with my being sick the last 2 weeks; some of it has to do with work; some of it has to do with, well, me.
But I woke up this morning -- okay, well, I slept on the couch because the flu came back at me hard again (9 days and counting) and I wanted Leanne to get some sleep, then took Sean to school, then ate breakfast, then went back to bed and slept until 10:30 in the morning, so that's when I eventually woke up -- and thought, "You do it because it's important to you."
Not unlike the reason I play guitar, work out at the gym, study karate, bike, gym. Because I enjoy it and because I get something out of it, even if it's not always clear what that is.
All told, I would prefer that a larger chunk of my annual income came from writing books -- both fiction and nonfiction --and quitting writing fiction won't make that happen, will it?
Ultimately, I think this is true for everyone, though, isn't it? Why do you write? Sometimes it's money. Sometimes it's a compulsion. Sometimes it's how you process the world. Sometimes it's...
A million and one different reasons, but it may all come down to: because it's important to you.
Which is where I am today. Writing books are important to me.
posted by Mark Terry at 10:14 AM
3 Comments:
I can empathize with everything you say, even down to the being sick the past two weeks. Hope that improves. It is hard to feel enthusiastic about anything except sleep when you're sick, at least for me.
The existence of e-pubbing makes the fiction writing dilemma more complicated than it might otherwise be because it allows, potentially, for a viable outlet for your writing aside from the usual publishing route. More to ponder. More options to weigh. But ultimately, it is a good thing to have more options.
I can certainly relate. I'm having to wait until the wee hours of the night to do any writing because I live in a noisy neighborhood.
My kids are grown which helps because I don't have to worry about school and the such.
I do love writing, but what truly motivates me is an autistic daughter who I want to get into a better place where she is safe and happy.
I don't mind e-publishing,except I'm not liking having to do the formatting and too poor to pay someone. But, I write on and hope for the best.
I knew you'd be back!
:-)
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