“A writer never has a vacation. For a writer life consists of either writing or thinking about writing.” – Eugene Ionesco
When I was writing professionally, I needed a periodic break from the stuff I was paid to write, but very often that break involved writing what I wanted to write as opposed to what I was paid to write. Huge difference! Writing is not labor for me. While it has sometimes been a job that earned me a salary, writing for myself was always the kernel of who I am.
I don’t work as a writer and so I enjoy writing more. If I need a vacation, it’s not because I’m tired of writing, just that I’m tired. I have no boss looking over my shoulder and no deadlines to meet. The absence of a boss and deadlines is such a relief after years of feeling as if I was constantly under the gun.
I’m pretty sure that unless you are earning your living as a working writer, writing is like breathing.
Writing is not what we do. It’s who we are.
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Categories: #Blogging, #Work, #Writing, Anecdote, Vacation, Words
SERENDIPITY - SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
I love reading and writing and cannot imagine my days without them.
Wishing you, your family and friends a happy, healthy and satisfying New Year.
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And from us to you, may your year to good, great, and better than that. 🎉
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Writers write, but I can see sometimes not wanting ‘the demans of writing’ imposed by outside.
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…er, or the demand to spell things right!
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A final end to typos??
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I rather like some typos. I am, not, a fan, of the , trend of pointless, comma’s and, apo’s’trophe’s everywhere, though. It seems like the writers are often waiting for us to confirm that we heard the tiny first part of the sentence before they continue to the rest of it. I like my declaratives dec;larative, but I seem in the minority these days.
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I’m just surprised at how my fingers type one thing while my brain is thinking something else. It’s a bit weird. I’m thinking “I write” and my fingers type “I right.” I hate homonyms.
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These days I truly suspect ‘autocorrect’ puts its many cents into some of our typing. I do indeed mess up sometimes, but there may be another ‘mind’ at work sometimes–
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Clearly you do Tarot. What deck do you use or did you create your own deck? I always wanted to create a deck, but it was an awful lot of very precise artwork and a LOT of drawing! Not to mention a serious amount of research.
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I use a variety of decks based in the 1916 Rider-Waite’ (actually many now call it Waite-Smith for Arthur Waite who wrote the book and Pamela Colman Smith who did the art, and I leave out Rider who published/financed it somehow). They grab me or they don’t, and it varies, and depends on who I read for–the Waite-Smith is racially white white white, and sometimes it feels more inclusive to use other decks when the people I am reading for are of various races and backgrounds. It never seemed desirable to me personally to make a whole deck as in I draw it, but among the couple-few books I wrote and did not publish was one about my interpretations of the cards. I have a giant patchwork deck of hundreds of cards that I like that are very inclusive and diverse and interesting to me.
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Another sort of mind, anyway
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REAL writers seem to be obsessive about it? They need to do it. I do SOME writing (of no note), but I almost have to force myself at times. I have a book I’ve been working on – for years. Don’t know that it will ever be finished. And it keeps changing – like real Art it has a life of it’s own – and it’s not mine. Most of any other writing I do is Opinion – an affliction which I’m trying to divest of as I’ve discover more and more that I know nothing. When I finally realize this completely, I think it will be very Freeing. IMO.
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If everyone could write, writing wouldn’t even BE a profession. Most writers are at least rather obsessive about it — some a lot more than others. If I were more obsessive, I’d have written more long pieces. Like short stories or even books. I need to write, but I’m past the OCD totally obsessed faze. Probably because I’m getting on in years and nothing obsesses me more than getting enough sleep.
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I find that if I am not writing, I am usually thinking about it.
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I used to be more obsessed by it. Now, I get ideas and hopefully remember to actually write them down. I have to set up a reminder or my aging brain will wander elsewhere.
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I am sure I lost many brilliant ideas this year because I did not write them down.
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Get a magnetic whiteboard and scribble notes on it. Believe it or not, it works.
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I so agree
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Writing becomes part of life. Along with the other stuff I do, I need to write at least sometimes. I used to write ALL the time unless I was doing something else. But time changes us all. Even writers retire.
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Agree completely. But what happens when you run out of words? Not really writers block, just feel like you’ve said it all so why keep trying?
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We retire. Writers DO retire. We will write a little bit. Maybe edit existing material or update previously written stuff. But we get old. I feel like I’ve written pretty much everything I wanted to say and a lot of stuff I never thought about, so unless something new happens, I don’t write as much. I’ve been retired for more than 20 years. I’ve been writing since I was 13 or 14. That’s a LOT of words.
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Very true Marilyn.
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But warning, warning: time does change that compulsion to write. You get to a point where you realize you’ve said everything you wanted to say and a lot of things you never imagined saying — and it’s time to retire.
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When I come across a word or challenge about which I’ve written before, I usually repost that post/ poem, for as you’ve said, I’ve already said something on that topic before.
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Absolutely💜🌿
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We all like to keep our hands in the pot, but I think the compulsion lessons with age.
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