Ahh, I finally got around to drawing again. I go in spurts. One week it's all I want to do, and then maybe I don't pick up the sketch book for a month. Anyway, this is Daphne Semens from my WIP, Sidekick. She's a soon-to-be Judo black belt, manga collector with a penchant for strange-colored lipstick. She also has a massive crush on her best friend's older brother (who is the MC). I kind of love her. A lot.Anyway, on to the other stuff I wanted to say today...
Writing is my job. Drawing is my hobby. This is an important distinction because it changes the way I tackle each.
I work at writing, honest to goodness work. I write when I don't want to. I edit much more than I feel like. I push, push, push myself to continually to improve. I pursue professional avenues in writing, like getting an agent and hopefully being published at some point. While I often enjoy writing, it's my job. I treat it as such.
Drawing is something I do when I feel like it—a hobby. Yes, I am a fairly decent cartoonist, but I am no where near professional level. If I put in a lot of work, I have no doubt I could get there. But I don't want to. I want to keep drawing as something cathartic, a hobby to enjoy at my whim.
There is nothing wrong with that, is there? And yet it seems like a lot of people have this idea that if they write, they must pursue it professionally, make it a job.
Is writing your hobby or your job? Think about the mentality those words require. If you're bringing a hobby mentality to writing, and yet you want to be published...maybe you need to reevaluate a little. Or perhaps you claim writing is a hobby, but you're working so hard that it's more of a job. You have to be honest about what writing is to you, embrace it. There is nothing wrong with either choice.
definitely a job. If it was a hobby, i'd allow myself to put it aside so i could play more Fable III
ReplyDeleteThat's such a simple way to define it, but I've never thought of it in those terms before: Writing is a job because I work at it even when I don't want to. A hobby, meanwhile, is for fun when the mood strikes.
ReplyDeleteWriting is definitely a job for me. I wouldn't wake up at the crack of dawn to slave away at a hobby. I wouldn't cancel plans with friends for my hobby. I wouldn't devise a strict schedule and create deadlines for my hobby. So yeah. Definitely a job.
I used to think I wanted writing to be a job. I think that's because I hated my job and needed a way out. Now that I'm well adjusted at work, I've realized I prefer keeping it as a hobby. Sure, I take the checks when I get paid for my stories, but I'd rather not depend on it to pay the bills. On a personal level, that would take something away from it for me. I admire anyone who can do it as a job ^-^
ReplyDeleteCan writing be a job if you're not getting paid for it yet? Because writing feels like work to me, not a hobby, but it's not paying the bills yet.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a job for me, but one which I LOVE! Looking forward to getting published, when it will feel more of a 'proper' job.
ReplyDeleteAnna, I think it can. Being a mom is certainly a job, and I don't get paid for that either;)
ReplyDeleteOn one of the boards I frequent, there's a member with a sigline that says something like:
ReplyDeleteTreat writing like a hobby and you can expect a hobbyist's payoff. Treat it like a professional and you can expect a professional's payoff.
I've known I was a writer since I was a little girl. It's my chosen profession, although it's one that doesn't follow the usual "interview and hire" method.
(and I love this: If I put in a lot of work, I have no doubt I could get there. But I don't want to.
I think this is something a lot of people have trouble understanding. Just because you can do something - and well - doesn't mean you need to knock yourself out with it. If you enjoy it, it's okay to keep it fun
I'm pretty much the same way. I draw sporadically, though no where near as good as you do. I really like your sketch. Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteWriting is not a job for me, but I would say it's my career. I have not yet made any money off of writing, and I'm still working full time. But I write as if I will be published someday, I scour the internet, bookstores and libraries for information about publishing. I write when I don't want to, etc.
I think this is the biggest reason I get upset when my husband compares my writing to his World of Warcraft playing. He doesn't realize that they're not the same thing.
I don't complain too harshly though when he does that. I play WoW with him a lot of the time and don't mind him playing.
Writing can't be my job as I have a full time job which pays the bills and which I actually enjoy. Saying that though, I fully intend on aiming for publication when I complete my WIP, so I'm unsure where it would put my in terms of the simple phrases job or hobby?
ReplyDeleteWriting has been my job since before I knew writing-as-a-job was a viable option. Not to go all girly on you, but if you've ever seen ICE PRINCESS, there's one character I relate to most--and that character is Nikki, the jumping shrimp. While all the other skaters are rolling their eyes at the prospect of MORE PRACTICE and LESS FUN, Nikki tells them, "Are you crazy? I love this stuff."
ReplyDeleteSooooo...
ReplyDeleteSemens?
Yes, Erik, you read that right. She hates it, of course. Her friends call her Daphne Who's-Last-Name-Will-Not-Be-Said.
ReplyDeleteShe looks angry-thoughtful. I like her!
ReplyDeleteI definitely treat writing as a job. My problem is that I tend to not really have any hobbies at all -- if I'm not taking it VERY seriously, then I tend not to do it at all. I should spend more time on the cathartic side activities, I think. Dancing...
Right now, writing is more of a hobby since my day job consumes a massive portion of my life. However, I'm gradually trying to make the switch mentally and physically to having writing as a job. So halfway in between???
ReplyDeleteI really want writing to be my job, but I keep falling back into having it be my hobby. I've used a lot of excuses, but I know I can make more time.
ReplyDeleteIt was most job-like this past August, when I was scrambling to finish my rough draft before school started. Now that was work.
Writing is my obsession. Writing is my passion. Writing is my escape. Writing is my salvation.
ReplyDeleteIt is a compulsion I’ve had since childhood…it’s in my blood. I was bitten by the writing-bug and never looked back. lol
Now...if I could a little money at it, that would be cool, too.
My husband and I just had this discussion via text message. His point was that if writing was my job, then I should get paid to do it. I keep trying to convince him that it will pay off some day.
ReplyDeleteHe's convinced that I like slave-labor, because none of my professions provide any income (mothering, cleaning, church stuff, editing for others and of course writing).
I wish writing was my job but it doesn't pay the bills - yet.
ReplyDeleteHowever, in my mind I'm a writer first and foremost. I give far more of myself to my writing than I do my "real" day job.
Hopefully one day writing will be my job.
TOTALLY agree. And I'm the same way with drawing. Sometimes I feel guilty about not drawing anything for a month, or not improving, and then I'm like, "Wait. This is supposed to be FUN."
ReplyDeleteI am writing as a job, but I have to be realistic how much time I can spend on it because I have to work at a full time job to support my family. I think for those of us who do work writing can still be a profession that we work at like you said, but for shorter periods of time. And that's okay too.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I like this defining thing. For starters a job for most people, includes some type of a salary. So if you have to work a full-time job and have a life, it just leaves a bit of time to write. But if you like writing, which you should if you're writing, you can still do it and take it seriously enough to get published. It might just take longer... :)
ReplyDeleteI kind of know what you're implying with the whole if you want to get published then it has to be your job idea, and you should write when you don't want to... but this isn't possible for some people without the means..
MHarvey, it's not so much time as it is mentality. I know people might not have a lot of time for writing—I'm one of them. And I'm not even talking about making a salary.
ReplyDeleteI'm simply saying that if you are looking to publish, you need to have a job mentality, not a hobby mentality. It needs to be work. Yes, it can still be fun work, but work nonetheless.
Can you do that with only 1 hour a day to write and no money? Yes, I think you can.
I think once I started my blog, it became a job for me. I got serious about writing and I think blogging and keeping up with author/agent/industry blogs put me to the next level. I call it work- I tell people I'm working when I'm writing. And I write so much more now than I used to, with the goal of being published in mind. On a side note, I used to draw all the time, and I tihnk it might be fun for me to draw my main characters.
ReplyDeletePart-time job. But, considering that I kind of wing it at my full-time job, that really isn't saying much.
ReplyDeleteI'm not really the job type :(
Okay you got me :) I agree, I'm trying to get some short stories published and I do have to force myself to write, even though when I'm doing it most of the time I enjoy it. Editings a different story ... So yes job mentality if you want to get published. PS. where can I enter these contests to get some stuff critiqued???
ReplyDelete