Writing is not a hobby—Carolyn R. Wilker

In the February 2014 edition of Writers Digest magazine, an ad jumped out at me, not that I will apply to the Vancouver Film School, but the ad could just as well serve for writers of books, articles, poetry and other genres, and also for journalists.

The full ad read: Writing is not a hobby, so stop treating it that way.

         It caught my attention, because like other times, I have treated it as a hobby, especially when I was just getting started.

I identify a hobby as something I like to do, but maybe don’t do all the time. The Canadian Oxford Dictionary defines it as "a favourite leisure activity or occupation." A little like me and my piano playing or my scrapbooking. Aspects of my life that I enjoy but that are not everyday activities. The ivories collect dust between playing, and my pile of photos grows bigger waiting for me to put them into my book. But then I am not a concert pianist, but neither do I want to forget those songs I’ve learned or lose my ability to play. And my job does not depend on the photos being archived by a particular time and date, and so they wait.

Perhaps the ad caught my attention more fully because I committed to Jeff Goin's 500 words a day challenge for the month of January and then decided to continue on for the month of February as well. Or perhaps it was words to this effect in a letter I received recently regarding my book— “You did a wonderful job, and I am sure it was all a pleasure in writing your book.” I’m pleased when my words bring pleasure and good memories, as it did for this reader. Little does she know about the work that goes into writing a book, but seriously, I wrote to let her know how much I appreciated her letter.

A writer finds time to write. Even one with a full-time job and children. Her scheduled time may be more limited, but committing to some routine will get that book or those poems written. She won’t beat herself up if circumstances prevent her from writing one day, or a child is sick and needs her mommy, but she gets back to it as soon as she can. Even Lucy Maud Montgomery may have had days when she could not write, but she always made her way back to it and completed a large body of work in her lifetime.

An interesting aspect to this 500-word-a-day challenge has been that sometimes I’ve put off writing until the end of the day—even if I prefer mornings— when other things have commanded my time, such as my editing work, which is essential, time with my grandchildren and other commitments, but I cannot seem to sleep without writing, and so I pick up my notebook on my bedside table and write, or go to the computer and type. Night may not be my best time, for I am tired, but I am exercising those writing muscles. It was my commitment, after all, to write more this year. Perhaps March will be my month to revise the larger pieces; the others I revise after they’re written. I still plan to write something each day, even if it is shy of 500 words.

Back to the statement that led to my pondering. Writing is not a hobby. If you are a writer, you must write.

 Choose your daily word count, put your fingers to the keyboard— or take pen in one hand and notebook in the other— at whatever time of day works best for you. One, two, three, write!

 

Carolyn Wilker is an editor, author of Once Upon a Sandbox, and a writing instructor. She's a member of the Editors' Association of Canada, The Word Guild, Inscribe Christian Writers' Fellowship, Toastmasters International, and a storyteller with the Baden Storytellers' Guild.

www.carolynwilker.ca