Thursday, July 12, 2012

Considering the Writing Life?

So many people think that writing is a mysterious, romantic profession. Okay, maybe they're right, sometimes. Mostly, it's hard work! This shouldn't discourage anyone from becoming a writer because anything that you want to do well takes effort. For the next few blogs, I am posting different aspect of the Writing Life to give you a picture of what it really means to be a freelance writer. My first blog reflects on The Patient Life.


There are many lessons derived from the Writing Life. Patience, a skill that I have practiced  at length yet not perfected, falls into the "derived" category. Whether I am patiently waiting to hear about a writing gig, anticipating an idea to come and relieve my writer's block or just waiting on a payment to arrive in the mail, the writing life is not for the impatient.


Experience has made me a fast typist. If writing success was based on typing ability, I'd be a guzillionaire! Okay, maybe not a guzillionaire, but pretty close. As writing is about creating thoughts that will hopefully have meaning to someone somewhere, my typing is an asset, but not quite enough. Acquiring those thoughts, organizing them into an order that makes sense and appeals to others requires much patience, at least for me. Maybe words just roll off your fingers well organized, deeply meaningful and full of potential, but I often find that patience is essential if I plan to produce any type of valuable content.

If you're considering the writing life, also consider how you'll respond when the gigs don't fall into your lap, the words won't come and your computer crashes in the middle of a tight deadline. While there are many wonderful aspects of being a writer, learning to live the patient life is vital.

If you're a writer, in what ways have you had to become patient?

No comments:

Post a Comment