Is writing work? Recently a writer friend was very upset. Somebody had said to her that unless she was earning a living wage, she was merely a hobbyist.
This equation of writing success with earning money is misleading. Money is very useful and all writers wish to be paid. That's taken for granted. Yet writing is one of the last careers I would suggest to a person hoping to earn a living wage from their work.
A writer is not a hobbyist who picks up a work in progress now and then. What is driving this person, if it isn't money?
One way to decide whether a particular work is of value is to assess its effect on the worker over time. What kind of person constitutes a writer? Individuals we are, yet the work of writing forces certain qualities upon us. We are disciplined people who work alone. We must be resilient, or the knockbacks we have all endured would have finished us long ago.
We are curiously interested in life, people, language, customs, quirks and details.
We learn to develop empathy, which is the one quality that can change our self-centred lives.
We can never harm, rob or otherwise negate the being of any individual for whom we feel true empathy. Writing reaches out to people. It wants to be shared and in that sense is a loving impulse.
Beautifully written description of writers and writing. Is it work? Sure feels like it to me!
ReplyDeleteYes! Hard work, and satisfying sometimes. It's no stroll in the park! I think it changes us over time and makes us more observant.
DeleteGood job and yes, it's works. Long, hard hours are spent in front of a computer screen and words are pounded out until the story is told. Just to finish writing a book is success!
ReplyDeleteHow true that we measure success by the task completed rather than by other peoples' expectations and demands.
DeleteSome things can't be measured in money terms. We are lucky to have this work to do, rather than menial repetitive tasks we carry out purely to make a living.
ReplyDeleteOh dear, Wordpress just denied me access and wiped out my post. Fiend seize 'em. It's really simple to define whether you are a writer. If you're going to write 'one day' - and in my experience that day never comes for such people - then you're not a writer. If you ARE writing, have to write, love telling stories, then you're definitely a writer, whether you do it full-time or part-time, whether you earn a fortune or a pittance. If you snipe at people who're writers, then you're just plain jealous.
ReplyDeleteAs usual, Anna, to the point, clear and correct!
DeleteI call this the Jk Rowling Syndrome! Great post, Margaret.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jenn.
DeleteI totally agree, Margaret. This needed to be said.
ReplyDeleteAs a prolific writer, Jean, you would agree that writing is not just a little hobby!
DeleteUnfortunately that's the way the government sees writers too. But we all know governments can be wrong. I agree with you, money is nice but it isn't everything.
ReplyDeleteI don't earn enough to pay tax, Dale, but I still feel that writing is more than a hobby for me.
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