[PUBLIC POST] Have you made sacrifices to write?

[ljwrites]

I had a great time with History Exchange 2016, but it occurred to me even while I was writing for it that I was putting a great deal of energy and time into an endeavor that, practically speaking, had no immediate benefits for me other than personal enjoyment. I spent a lot of time on the Web and pulled a dozen books from the stacks at my school library for research, and even bought a book that my library didn't carry. (No regrets though, it was awesome in its own right.) All this for writing that I would not see one red cent for! Economically speaking, this is madness. I guess that's how hobbies work, though.

Beyond just spending spare time, though, I find myself always figuring writing time into my future plans. I mean, I became a lawyer on the hope that it would give me the financial security and spare time to write, though things didn't quite work out that way. My change in course to academics, while in keeping with my aptitude, was also driven by my constant need to leave some room in my life to write while making a living on the side. In a way it's working out so far: I don't make much money but I do make a decent living while having the flexibility to pursue my impractical passion. As my responsibilities grow, though, I'm going to have to make further choices, and I have a feeling I'll always hold back a part of me to have that space where I can keep writing.

Do you find yourself holding back or making sacrifices, whether of time, money, opportunity and so on, in order to write? Do you think you might do so in the future?

Comments

[warqueenfuriosa]

I think fun writing evens out in the long run though. I got way more comfortable with writing through fanfiction. It didn't earn me any money but I did get the writing practice which is technically priceless right? :)

I think I'm still caught in that mindset of sacrificing writing first because it's "play time" and I "should" do more practical things first. I would find every excuse NOT to write because it was my own personal thing and I always put myself and my dreams on the back burner for so many years. I listened to too many people for too long, telling me that writing was a waste of time/money/energy and that I should be doing something more worthwhile/practical.

I keep a journal now though, with daily writing (even when it's 3am and I can hardly stay awake) but it's non-negotiable. The journal happens every day, no matter where I am, no matter how packed the day was. I used to only write original fiction because that was what would have the chance at earning money. But again, it felt like I was being driven by practicality only and things would start to drag a bit because I was so focused on "market market market."

This year, I said "Screw it" and I'm writing whatever I want, fanfiction, original, journal, whatever. I'm solely pursuing the craft and the joy of it. It can be a little unnerving sometimes because I had Big Plans for publishing X amount of stories in X amount of time, but I'm really loving writing right now and that's all I care about.

[ljwrites]

I think that's an excellent way to approach the issue. To see it as fun first and foremost, and any writing as an opportunity to improve, is going to make the most sense for the majority of people for whom it is a passion and a pleasure.

[jazzyjj]

I think I'm in somewhat the same position as the previous commenter. I just published an entry about my recent one-day trip out to California with some colleagues. I actually wrote up a trip summary and was going to have it published on 2 other blogs. One of those was a blog that is part of the website for a nonprofit organization in which I've been involved for almost 12 years now. I emailed my trip summary to someone who works in their office, but still haven't heard back from anyone. So I might try emailing it to someone else there. But I also emailed my post to a colleague, whom I recently found out had surgery and is moving out of state. Thus the reason for me publishing it to my own journal. I can't post to our blog unless I email into one of my colleagues due to issues with accessibility. But I have also wanted to practice writing for some time now, and I just figured what better way to do that than create a journal? I think Dreamwidth is the ideal place for that, at least where Mac computers are concerned. Dw's accessibility team has done a stellar job, at least for users of Apple's built-in screen reader.

[ljwrites]

Awesome! I hope you find the journal both fun and useful.