Writerly Wednesdays, Issue 3: Let it go to let it flow

You may recall my deeming last Wednesday “Whiney Wednesday”. I had been trying so hard all week to practice description writing, but was getting nowhere. I believe I was right about the reason I was getting nowhere too – I was studying too much. Yes, I had produced tons of words on the page, but none of them made much sense. I have come to the conclusion that I was blocking my creativity.

With that in mind, I set out this past week to put the studying aside, and just enjoy myself, enjoy the process of writing. After all, that is why I write, because I love it. I’m happy to say it worked. This past week I have written stories and other things that actually made some sort of sense. That’s not to say they’re perfect. On the contrary, most of them will need heavy revision, if not a complete rewrite, but the point is I had fun.

When writing starts to feel like working, there is no point. I hear all you writers that make a living by writing – writing is working. Let’s address that. No matter what your career, there comes a time when your job feels like, well, work. That’s normal, it’s natural, and all we can do is work through it and hope tomorrow will be a better day, but when you start to feel like the job you’re doing is a chore, day in and day out, it may be a good time to reassess. Of course we may not always have a choice in the matter. We could be working a job just to pay the bills, to keep food on the table, and a roof over our heads. But even in that case, there is something you can do about it. There is always room to dream of, if not right-out plan, a more satisfying career.

By now you’re probably wondering “what the heck is the point of this post?” If you are still with me, thank you, dear loyal reader. Here is my point:

I am fortunate enough to have a full-time job that I enjoy, even when it becomes challenging. I’m even more fortunate that I get to do that job from the comfort of my home. I am blessed to work for a company that asks no more than they’re willing to give themselves. The extent of my writing talents in this job is limited to business letters, proposals, and presentations, with an occasional newsletter article thrown in for good measure. This is why I practice my creative writing during every spare moment I have. It’s difficult to be creative when you manage Microsoft licensing, among other contracts and subscriptions, unless you count the post-conversation tirades, which can become quite creative. Lately I’ve been spending more and more time either writing stories or thinking about them, thus not giving my day job the attention it deserves. Before I began taking my writing more seriously I would use my lunch hour, and even weekends, to get ahead at work, to always be at least a month ahead “just in case”.

So, what does any of this have to do with letting your creativity flow? Aside from the fact that I had been studying too much about writing, (instead of actually writing), I believe that nagging thought in the back of my mind that my job is suffering is also keeping my creativity from flowing. I am nothing if not responsible, and the fact that I’ve allowed that trait to slacken is really bothering me.

Therefore, I have made the decision to – ACK! – put down my pen for a while. I’m not saying that I’m giving up on writing. Indeed, I honestly cannot imagine ever not writing; rather, I’m refocusing my attentions in order to make sure my job is performed at the standard I, and everyone who works with me, have come to expect. This means I may not be publishing a blog more than once a week for the next month or so, and I may not contribute to #fridayflash on The Other Side of Deanna each week during that same time period. I didn’t want to disappear on you all with no explanation. I have a two week vacation planned for Christmas, but if I don’t get my hind-end in gear and get my work done, that will be impossible. I really want to, and need to, spend some time with my family during that vacation, so my main goal right now is to prepare for it.

Over the past few months I have experienced several breakthroughs in terms of my writing career. Yes, I said writing career. Even though I am paid to perform administrative assistant tasks, I still see myself as getting paid for my writing, maybe even one day making that my main source of income. I might be 100 years old by the time it happens, but it will happen. Thanks to a push by a great friend, (you know who you are dear loyal reader), I stepped out on a limb and started writing fiction. That was about two months ago. I now have two publishing credits, and likely one more to come over the next month – all stemming from my fiction writing, and all via requests for my work. This does not include the monthly column I do for BIN. This success makes me confident in my dream of making a living from my writing. I have no intention of stopping. I only need to slow down.