Writing for fun versus writing for pay.
By Olivene Godfrey
While suffering through a "writer's block", I remembered these words by John W. Vandercook, " Show me an author who says he 'just loves to write' and I'll show you somebody who doesn't make a living at it." Of course we who write wouldn't be happy doing anything else. There's something inside us that drives us to put words on paper and it is satisfying work. While I'm retired and don't make a living writing now, I do feel an obligation to readers to write in this space once a week.
But, writing fun? or something to "to just love" ? Not if you are serious about it. If you confine your writing to a diary or journal, I suppose it could be fun. But, when you write for publication, it's quite a different matter, especially if you are facing onrushing deadlines as I did for so many years.
When you write for a living, you can't wait for inspiration. Most of us are doing well if we are inspired once a week. And, after we've written for years it seems as if we have written about every subject under the sun at least once, usually more than once. Then, out of the blue something comes to you, something that isn't really new, as there isn't anything that hasn't been thought of before, but we find a different angle to approach, and when we finish the piece, we're glad that we are writers. But, it wasn't fun.
John Raymond, Atlanta Journal-constitution Book Review Editor, once wrote that there are two kinds of writers, those who have talent, energy, and have something to say and who proceed to utilize all three, and those who think they have those things but have only energy. I suspect there comes a time when all writers think they are in the second group. And when we don't even have energy we really feel low. Still, we continue to write and to write and to write.
See you next time.
By Olivene Godfrey
While suffering through a "writer's block", I remembered these words by John W. Vandercook, " Show me an author who says he 'just loves to write' and I'll show you somebody who doesn't make a living at it." Of course we who write wouldn't be happy doing anything else. There's something inside us that drives us to put words on paper and it is satisfying work. While I'm retired and don't make a living writing now, I do feel an obligation to readers to write in this space once a week.
But, writing fun? or something to "to just love" ? Not if you are serious about it. If you confine your writing to a diary or journal, I suppose it could be fun. But, when you write for publication, it's quite a different matter, especially if you are facing onrushing deadlines as I did for so many years.
When you write for a living, you can't wait for inspiration. Most of us are doing well if we are inspired once a week. And, after we've written for years it seems as if we have written about every subject under the sun at least once, usually more than once. Then, out of the blue something comes to you, something that isn't really new, as there isn't anything that hasn't been thought of before, but we find a different angle to approach, and when we finish the piece, we're glad that we are writers. But, it wasn't fun.
John Raymond, Atlanta Journal-constitution Book Review Editor, once wrote that there are two kinds of writers, those who have talent, energy, and have something to say and who proceed to utilize all three, and those who think they have those things but have only energy. I suspect there comes a time when all writers think they are in the second group. And when we don't even have energy we really feel low. Still, we continue to write and to write and to write.
See you next time.
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