Tracy Krauss |
Writing is not for the faint of heart. It takes a lot of
hard work and determination, and to top it off, you must brace yourself for
criticism and rejection. Who in their right mind would put themselves through
such stress when the pay-off financially is often minimal?
Well, even though you can’t see me, my hand is raised. It
reminds me of something I read by a fellow author who posed the question, “Do
you write to live, or live to write?” For the vast majority of people writing
in today’s ‘new reality’ of publishing, we aren’t making enough to live on and
thus have to hold down another job. However, to not write is inconceivable.
It’s just what I do. It’s who I am. In many ways, it defines me. I guess that
puts me smack in the ‘live to write’ category.
Lest you think I’m complaining, let me set the record
straight. I am very thankful for the small amount of success I have managed to
achieve in the past few years as a writer. Still, it has been a long time
coming. You see, despite some relative ‘success’, I’ve been writing now for
twenty-eight years, which is more than half my life. (I’ll let you try to
figure out the math...) Through that time I’ve experienced some setbacks,
rejection, and even health related issues that kept me from using my computer,
but somehow I managed to keep on writing.
Someone asked me once how many more books I plan to write. I
was momentarily puzzled. “As many as I can,” was my answer. That or when I run
out of ideas. I don’t see that happening any time soon. My dream is to have all
the time in the world to just pound away at the keyboard. I could probably
write three or four novels a year at that pace. Reality isn’t quite as
prolific, but even if I don't retire from teaching, I know I’ll still be
writing. I’m thankful for every minute I currently have.
5 comments:
Tracy, what an affliction. You've contracted a severe case of *gotta' write* disease. By now it's a chronic condition. There's no cure . . . you're stuck with it.
I wish you every success as you manage the condition. :)
~~+~~
I know the feeling, especially the part about your dream - it's mine, too. One day, huh?
Great job, Tracy!
I know the feeling, especially the part about your dream - it's mine, too. One day, huh?
Great job, Tracy!
I think most writers feel this way - otherwise why would we put ourselves through what we do...
It's a variation of the way I think of it: I write, therefore I am.
Post a Comment