Living To Write - Tracy Krauss

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.

Tracy Krauss is a multi-published author, artist, and playwright. She has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Saskatchewan and teaches secondary school Art, Drama and English – all things she is passionate about. She and her husband have lived in five provinces and territories including many remote and unique places in Canada’s far north. They have four grown children and now reside in beautiful Tumbler Ridge, BC where she continues to pursue all of her creative interests. She has several romantic suspense novels and stage plays in print. For more information visit her website at http://www.tracykrauss.com