So true, isn't it? As much as writing can grab us and make us want to hole up somewhere with a laptop and write forever, it also takes a lot of WORK. A lot of effort to keep learning and keep growing and keep writing and keep revising and keep blogging or any / all the other things we do along with it. I mean, it takes a lot!
“Anyone can become a writer. The trick is staying a writer.”
~Harlan Ellison
So is it easy to STAY a writer? I'm going to say no. Every once in a while, the thought crosses my mind about how much easier life would be if I didn't write. Easier? Yes! Better? For me, no. And I'm guessing for most, if not all, of you-- the answer is no, too.
(Of course, life would be easier if we had a maid, a personal chef, a personal shopper, and a gardener. (Ooo! While we're dreaming big, let's throw in masseuse, too.) But who says life is supposed to be easy? We don't need no stinkin EASY! We're tough! (We best keep telling ourselves that, too, lest we forget.))
So what do you think? On a scale of 1-10, (10 being the highest, of course, since it's the highest), what are the chances you'll STAY a writer? And to reward you for answering such a hard question, have a cookie!!
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| Photo credit and recipe link |
47 comments:
On a scale of One to Permanently, I think I'm a Permanently.
I totally agree with the above comment. I live and breathe writing. I hope to do it for the rest of my life.
Ditto for me! It's something I've always wanted to do, to be--but if you had asked me this last night, I might have responded with a four. Writing is hard, and sometimes discouraging. No matter how much time and effort you put into a draft, when you take that draft to your critique group, it's going to get critiqued, and that's wonderful...and sometimes discouraging because, well, it's like playing an instrument. You wish you were in book ten of your method, but you know you're only in book three and have a ton of work ahead of you--do you really want to do it? Work that much?
My answer: YES!
Yep, for me the chances of staying a writer are extremely high. I don't do it TO get published, so not getting published won't stop me ;)
This is why I love reading blogs - for that reassurance that I'm not the only one feeling that way! Sometimes I look back to the days when I could come in from work and read a book, cook dinner, watch tv without that nagging voice telling me I should be writing! I can't imagine giving it up through choice - it's in the blood! On a bad day I'm a 2, but mostly I'm a 10! Great post!
I'm a writer for life. Why? Because part of my ADD brain is a perfectionist. And I think writing is the one thing I could never perfect. I'll always think of ways I can do better.
I think if I gave up writing - I would be giving up a part of myself; a gift that God gave me to write and it would be disappointing myself. I don't want that. I'd rather write and keep writing. :)
This is a brilliant quote!!! That is what I struggle with some days...staying a writer :)
Sometimes I think about how much easier life would be without writing, too. No guilt when I don't write, no stress when I'm stuck, more time for everything else. But then I think about how EMPTY I would feel. It's a scary thought, so I don't think I'll ever let myself stop writing, because it fills me. I say 10 :)
10.
I am always unhappy when I am not writing. Writing is so much a part of who I am I could no more stop being one then I could stop being a woman :)
Being a writer is a personality trait and I'm not about to get my personality removed, so count me in for the long haul. Though some days I wouldn't mind having a maid and a part time nanny.
The cookies look so yummy. I think I will stay a writer. I know it will be hard but my mind doesn't shut off, so I'm not sure I have a choice.
Have a great weekend.
The cookies look great. They're about the only sure thing I can comment on regarding this post. :) Actually, I can't definitely say whether I'll remain a writer. My life changes so much and takes unexpected turns, that there isn't anything I can be sure of. Now, would I like to stay a writer? Yes, I would.
Have a nice weekend.
Your cookies make me fat.
I am a writer - so 10
published to making my wildest dreams come true - who knows?
But it will always come back to I am a writer, for me.
If I want to keep any shred of sanity, I'll stay a writer. 10! :)
Always.
It would be waaay easier, but not nearly as fun.
That thought crosses your mind every once in a while? Try every single day! That's the way it is for me. But I don't think I could give up even if I tried. While it brings me a great deal of heartache, it also brings me great joy and total fulfillment. So though it only gets harder the longer I do it, I can't be truly happy if I don't.
Always. Even if I'm just writing them down for my kids.
Incredibly true! Do you want to write a book - OR do you want to write lots of books? Lots of books for me please! And lots of those cookies, thank you! :)
Incredibly true! Do you want to write a book - OR do you want to write lots of books? Lots of books for me please! And lots of those cookies, thank you! :)
I'm in too deep, quitting now would be a complete waste of my imagination...or so I tell myself.
10. Yeah, I'm in it to stay. Even if I never get published, I love it too much to let go. :)
Definitely ten.
I think that a writer is what I am and that I will always do it. But I can see the nature of my engagement with my writing changing over time. Right now, I have much I want to put out into the world and there is a long list of things I want to write about. But I can envision a time when it would no longer be important to me to "promote" my writing or myself the way I do today. I actually rather look forward to that :-)
I look back at who I was before I decided to be a writer and see a lot of empty hours. Those hours would be nice some days, but I wouldn't give up writing for them. Nope. Never.
Definitely a writer. Come on, I'm even considering studying it in uni that's how much I like it. Out of ten I'd say 12.
Ohmigod! The cookies sound Yummo!
I don't know how any writer, whether they've come out or not *g*, could ever actually quit. They may cease the publication route, I suppose, but the need to create through the written word, I think is quite beyond our control.
I've often thought about what I would do if my options suddenly ran out. I think even if I were forced to lie like broccoli in a bed somewhere I would still tell stories in my own head.
I will definitely stay a writer. That picture made me so hungry.
Either stay a writer or become a full-timer cookie taster, which will be bad for my waist-line, so - on balance - I'll be staying as a writer.
Love the quote! Not sure I have a choice with the writer thing. I feel I have to write.
8.
I really enjoy writing, and it would take a lot for me to give it up--but I don't think I could say 10. (At least at this point.)
I think I'm in it for the long haul. Rough times not withstanding, I love it and you should do what you love, right? Besides, I have to do SOMETHING with all the stories in my head for the characters I draw. Its starting to get a little crowded up there :)p
If you're into writing because you want to be the next NYT bestseller, maybe you'll give up. If you write because writing and story creation is just what you are, you won't quite. Because you are what you are.
After going back and forth for years, I can now safely say I'm a forever writer. And a big part of it is the fact that I have become so involved with my fellow writing bloggers. The support/fellowship is the part that I was missing all along. And put me down for a masseuse, please!
Without doubt, I'll always write. Even if it's just for me:-)
Such enthusiastic comments and yummy cookies! Yeah, it's in the blood for me, too.
Truer words were never spoken!! And I'm pretty sure I'll be beating my head against that publishing brick wall until it crumbles. If for no other reason than I'm too stubborn to take a no ( :
And I really need to stop reading your blog... these cookie pictures are making me fat.
I don't think I can ever give up writing... it's always there in my mind... it's me, though sometimes when it gets really heavy (esp when in editing mode and I feel ready to pull my hair out) I ask myself that question...
Yeah, I'm pretty much stuck with it.
Serious hard work! No joke. Now, if I could just keep up with you!
Yes that is a great quote (Yummie looking cookies too!)I always been a writer ever since I could put pen to paper, it's whether I'll become a published author that's still open for debate LOL!
I didn't mean to stay a writer. I think it's more of a curse than anything else. Mainly because of the rejections. At AWP they told us that you have to LOVE it, without the money, without the fame, and I do. I love my characters, my novels...my writing. I love -to- write. So...yea, I'm in :)
Whether it's lyrics to the music I write, poems, stories or another novel, I will write.
I think of Stephen King and how many times he's said that he's going to retire. And then how many times he... doesn't. Why? I don't think it's because he's so hard up for cash that he needs to write another book. He reneges on his retirement every time because he IS a writer. It's not just what he does, but who he IS.
I can identify with that.
Jo
In Which We Start Anew
I'd have to be a 10 too. Writing is part of who we are!
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