Hobby vs. Profession I

Should you wait to practice a craft until you can make a living doing it?  Is the value of time spent in the money earned? Don’t cook unless you’re a chef?  Don’t sew unless you’re a fashion designer?  Don’t play an instrument unless you’re a professional musician?  No amateur astronomers or athletes allowed. Nonsense! 

As with most writers I’ve been writing all of my life.  Am I published?  As with most writers the answer is no but it’s a compulsive obsessive behavior that is impossible to break and my nervous system would explode if I didn’t do it. It’s not wasted time, it’s time spent on my mental health. Don’t apologize for time spent or on your particular pleasure.  Enjoy it

When you read or write you get to spend time with the characters!  Did you ever have pretend friends when you were little?  I often wonder if reading and writing isn’t an extension of pretend friends.  We chose the place, the setting, the people, the activities, and the story.  We get to escape to ‘the other place’ for a while and come back refreshed.

As a writer my characters always come first in the process.  They grow and become more and more fleshed out and real and then begin to interact with one another and that is the stuff of the story. Sometimes I think that I'm just there to take it all down like a court reporter so they can speak to each other, live their lives, enjoying their friends, family and lovers.  They are much like Geppetto's carving who wants so desperately to be a real little boy.