Ahahahaha, I bet you’re thinking that this post is about writing erotica!
Well, it is. Sort of. A little.
This weekend was pretty productive for me, not optimally so but I wrote about 2k both Saturday and Sunday and then did line edit on 30k today as well. As far as numbers go, that’s respectable.
I didn’t do that well last weekend. Or the weekend before that.
What changed?
I don’t think any big sweeping alterations in life explains it. In this case, is was one little tumblr post that really hit home for me. Here’s the meme itself:
Specifically the last part, about committing to my work.
I spend a lot of time angry about the fact that I don’t have as much time to write as I would like. I work a day!job for 40 hours a week, which means I’m either in transit or on the job from 7:30 am to 6 pm. Sure, I’m lucky because I don’t have a family to cook dinner for or a lot of other responsibilities outside of work, but still, that’s a huge chunk of time spent not writing. I get very frustrated about that.
But then, when I do have time to write, I procrastinate. My anger drives away my creativity, and my frustration works to anchor me in my negativity.
But this is my JOB just as surely as my day!job is. I have not been committed to it that way, treating it more as a “serious hobby” and that’s worked for me for a while, but it is also holding me back. More importantly, if I want to make a living off of my writing, now is the time for me to commit to working at it every day.
And by that I mean doing more than a few half-hearted edits. I mean writing and creating and building worlds for my characters to live in.
Writing is my passion, in so many ways. To make a living at doing this I need to dedicate time and effort to it. Right now that means the equivalent of working two jobs, but that won’t be true forever. If I do this, and keep doing it, and commit to doing it right, then soon I’ll be a full-time writer.
Following my passion doesn’t mean taking it easy, it entails dedication and focus and determination. But if I don’t make that commitment to myself, no one will.
