Part-Time Versus Full-Time Writing

Again this week I have come across another writer who longs to be a Full-Time Writer. He said he wants to start getting away on weekends to his cabin in the woods so he can write there. I myself am extraordinarily guilty of romanticizing writing and the day where I can be an official Full-Time Writer.

However, I couldn't help but think that if only he were to write during the time it took him to travel to and from the cabin, he could really have some significant work accomplished. As I said in another post, you don't have to have inspiration to write. You don't have to set aside huge blocks of time. The soul needs stimulation and relaxation, so his retreating to his cabin every once in a while is a good idea. But it shouldn't be a crutch. If I'm not in the cabin, then I can't write, and how can I be a writer if I don't have a wonderfully cozy cabin in which I can be writerly?

This weekend I learned that I do better without large blocks of time that I feel obligated to fill up with Full-Time-Writer material.

I take Julia Cameron's words to heart in The Artist's Way:

"Blocked creatives like to think they are looking at changing their whole life in one fell swoop. This form of grandiosity is very often its own undoing.  By setting the jumps too high and making the price tag too great, the recovering artist sets defeat in motion."

For me, being a writer is all about baby steps.  I wake up an hour earlier than I'd like to at 5:00 am. I work on my novel for an hour, then I read the paper, drink my tea, and have my breakfast. At lunch, I work on my writing for another hour.  When I come home, I'm spent, so I just write blogs.

Some mornings I have to sleep until 6:00 am.  But I don't punish myself for missing an hour of writing.  When I feel the need to write, I have the luxury of having a wonderful husband who will make time for me.

Good luck, and happy writing.