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April 25, 2009
Why a day job can be good for your writing.
This is just my opinion and "your mileage may vary," as they say. But I think having a non-writing day job can actually be good for your writing. I grant you that it's counter-intuitive, but if you think about it, it kind of makes sense.
Having a day job makes writing more mistress than "old lady." (I should point out here that the people in this metaphor are archetypes and not intended to represent any actual, real people.) That lends added excitement to writing as you "sneak around" to find time for your writing/mistress, avoiding the responsibilities of home and job in favor of spending just a little more time with the ever-seductive words-on-page. Having writing as your "job" can make it mundane, something you have to do rather than something you want/need to do, and that can take some of the fire out of it.
Thinking of the issue another way, you can't light a fire by laying the piece of flint on a soft down comforter, patting it gently, and making sure it's always comfortable. No, you get the damn thing to spark by banging it repeatedly against a rock (or other hard surface). It’s painful for the flint, sure, but before you know it there is a flash of fire springing out of that nexus of flint and rock.
And that, my friends, is my minority opinion on this topic. ;)
(Thanks to Kevin Lucia for prompting this rumination with his very innocent comment at FaceBook about writing a bestseller so he can quit his day job and write full-time.)
Posted by Selena at April 25, 2009 09:23 AM