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Today will be the first time I've actually remembered to check Write on Wednesday on a Wednesday. Becca's question is:
What do the three P’s of writing…practice, pleasure, profit…mean in your writing life?
I once entered a poem into a poetry contest for Minnesota high schoolers and wouldn't you know it, I won. I was published in an anthology and given a $50 savings bond. I did not know that savings bonds took so long to mature, so when I finally cashed it out, it was worth $35. And that is the extent of how I have profited, money-wise, from writing. I support myself at the moment on a regular job and I genuinely hope I never have to support myself financially from writing, because at my regular job I still get paid for the days when I'm bored and spend all day pretending to work while secretly playing solitaire.
I've been committing to write more this year and sometimes succeeding. I don't have the practice of writing on a daily basis, for any number of reasons that would amount to nothing more than excuses. On an irregular basis, I post some short fiction on this blog, but I'm torn about it. If I ever went back and wanted to submit any of those stories for publication somewhere, I'd have problems, as publishers don't want fiction you've already published on a blog. However, giving myself a reason to work on writing makes me actually write, which is a good thing. So I've stuck firmly to the irregular schedule of my fiction. And writing. The thought of taking an actual writing class (oh why did I not take one in college when I was already taking out student loans??) has crossed my mind more than once.
And lastly, writing is a pleasurable activity in general, however I have a tendency to give up on it when it becomes less pleasurable (i.e. I get stuck or can't think of the right words). The greatest pleasure (right up there with finally graduating from college and getting a raise) is reading something I wrote and realizing that I actually like it.
Alright, enough writing about writing. Back to actual writing.
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5 comments:
Happy writing, Kim! :D
If that writing class idea ever cross your mind again, check out your local community college - are you somewhere where there are community colleges? - we (i teach at one) sometimes have great creative writing classes on the cheap
Boy, I can relate to so much of what've said here...I too tend to give up when the going gets tough - at least where writing is concerned. I want it to be pleasurable all the time, because after all, so much of the rest of life isn't, so why should my hobbies be hard too?
I think blogging helps us be accountable a little, without the pressure of having to write "for publication." It's a good way to balance the two.
Thanks for participating in Write On Wednesday!
alice-thanks!
andi-See that's what I need to do. I happen to live in an area with a lot of great community colleges, I just need to get off my rear and sign up for it.
becca-exactly! I don't want my hobbies to be work, and blogging can quickly become that, so I have to back off sometimes and just try to enjoy blogging, not stress about visiting every single blog every single day.
Excellent ... love your touch of humour ... back to writing ;)
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