Yes, writing is really work.
There are some who’ve told me to get a real job. Sometimes not in so many words. Other times, rather directly.
But writing is really work. So are the rest of the creative arts.
Why don’t people think it’s work? Because society has come to look at the arts and artistic pursuits as a hobby. These are things you do in your spare time – not for your vocation.
However – throughout human history – artist has been a vocation. Maybe we’ve lost the name of the artist when it comes to historic statuary and other works – but they were still made by a practicing creative.
Yet somehow, over time, more and more the creatives have been shunted to one side. What we do is not seen as the same value as doctors, for example.
Truthfully – it’s not. The work a doctor does is very different from what a writer, painter, singer, or other creative does. But in what way is it of less value? Artists can save lives, too.
That song that inspires you to turn a corner. The painting with such color and life that you choose not to commit suicide. A poem with such depth that you determine to start a new life path.
Someone sang that song, painted that painting, and wrote that poem. Yes, it was real work that made that creative work of art available to you.
All the knowns used to be unknown
Nobody came into being, fully formed, doing that which they are passionate about.
Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, Beyonce, Tom Clancy, Natalie Portman, and every other creative name widely recognized started as nobody. They were once an unknown quantity, until time, work, and even random happenstance brought them into the light.
For every one of the names that I mentioned above, there are lots of other successful creatives that are not so well known. I discovered the sci-fi novels of Joel Shepherd by some means I don’t recall – and have thoroughly enjoyed his Spiral Wars series. While I only just finished the last, I eagerly await the next. To my knowledge, he is a full-time writer.
In my living room, I have a gorgeous abstract painting. The artist who created it is a woman named Kati Roberts. I love this painting, and I found it at an art show many years ago. Her work is her art. But she’s not recognized like those I named above, either.
Thus, to work as an artist successfully doesn’t require becoming a well-known figure. Lots of people do it and do it well.
Why shouldn’t your art be your work? There is no reason why not. Art brings life, color, expression, inspiration, and empowerment in every creative genre you can imagine.
The other important factor many people disregard is this: what you see is the finished product. The time, sweat, blood, tears, and effort to make that completed piece is utterly and totally work.
Writing is really work
At the end of last year, I decided to refocus my writing efforts. Stepping away from my usual practice of writing by the seat of my pants (pantser), I took an idea and outlined it.
Outlining the idea led to plotting 4 books in which to bring it to life. The plotting went from the notion of the books themselves to a chapter-by-chapter breakdown of each.
Once that was complete, and I had laid out all 4 books of the Forgotten Fodder series, the writing began. For the most part, the outline guided me. But things cropped up with how I approached certain characters, and there were minor alterations. But having that outline provided me the guidance to tell the story with more clarity – and a clearer plot – than I’ve written with before.
Once I was done, I went back and edited each book. After I completed my edit, I sent the book to my editor. Once she returned it to me, I went over her edits and made sure there was nothing I didn’t misunderstand – and sometimes alter things for clarity that we both missed before.
About the time I send everything to the editor, I reach out to my cover artist. Maybe you can’t judge a book by its cover – but people do anyhow. Thus, a good cover is necessary.
After that was done, I added the dedication, afterword, About the Author, and other formatting. Then, I uploaded one formatted version for Kindle and another for the paperback.
That done, next comes promotion and marketing. Since I am self-publishing, all these matters fall on me.
Does that seem like a lot of work to you? Well, it is. Writing, when all is said and done, is really work. Work that I love – but work nonetheless.
Why can’t we love work?
There is a predominant belief, particularly in the United States, that work is not fun. You really work just to pay for things like clothing, food, shelter, and other necessities such as mobile phones, tablets, cars, and so on.
It has become accepted that work should be laborious. Happiness at your job is a bonus. Do your part, be a consumer, and keep your head down and your mouth shut.
I don’t know about you, but I am awake about 17-18 hours a day. If I am the average American worker, I spend almost half my waking daily life at work. Factor in that you do that for 5 days a week. I’d spend 40 of the approximately 119 hours I’m awake during the week working. That’s a third of my waking hours, per week.
Going off being awake 17 hours a day – we’re awake 6188 hours a year. We’re working, without any time off, 2080 hours a year. Again, a third of all our time awake.
Question – if you are unhappy for a third of your life – almost 2100 hours a year – does that make sense to you?
The average American life expectancy is currently around 78 years. Most people work for about 45 of those years. That adds up to 93,600 hours working. If you are awake 17 hours a day for 78 years that’s 482,664 hours awake. The total time you put into working is 19% of your life.
If those hours working are not time well spent, you’ve given approximately 1/5th of your waking life to doing something you don’t love – or worse, possibly loath.
Does that make any sense to you? Seems wasteful to me. So again, I ask – why can’t we love our work?
Life is too short to waste
I have worked in corporate America. If needs be, I can and will do so again. During my standard 8-hour workdays, frequently I did actual, factual work about half the time. At the most. But I still had to be present, 8 hours, even when my work was done in 2-4 hours.
I’m not even factoring in a commute. How many people do you know who spend an hour or more a day, each way, to go to or from work?
Why are we so willing to waste so much of our precious life hours doing things that don’t make us happy? Because we accept a lot of gaslighting, Stockholm Syndrome, and numerous other lies about how life is supposed to be – and so on.
No, choosing to do work outside the norm is not an easy choice. Not only because people question if writing and the arts are really work, but also because it’s challenging on many levels since it’s not the norm.
What’s more, since I am – as a writer – dependent on readers buying my books, I can’t make anyone buy them. All I can do is keep doing the work. Write, edit, promote, repeat.
And it is really work. But I love this work. And I believe in what I am doing.
It is all really work
If everyone in the world chose “real” jobs like doctor, lawyer, customer service agent, tech support, and all the rest – the color that creatives bring to the world wouldn’t be.
Who would make the TV shows, sing the songs, paint the murals, and create all the other artistic wonders we often take for granted? Hobbyists couldn’t fill that void. The world needs professional creatives as much as it needs other professionals.
One size never fits all. Work comes in more forms than most of us can truly imagine. Whatever that takes for you is right for you. Despite the concerns, criticisms, and misunderstandings of others – you are worthy and deserving of being your most genuine self.
Is it really work? Hell yes. And just like “real” jobs aren’t for me, it’s not for everyone.
Thank you for being part of my ongoing journey, for joining me, and for inspiring me and my craft.
This is the one-hundred and twenty-first article exploring the ongoing creative process. Please take a moment to check out the collection of my published works, which can be found here.
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