Day 2: The Job

Is it dangerous that I think I look forward more to writing these posts than the actual act of writing my novel?

Today has been a harder day. However, I have advanced my word count by a couple of thousand to 4832. Not as many as the first day but still more than the daily requirement to make 50,000.

I can definitely see how this could be a grind. I have a rough outline written down of my story, and a slightly more filled in version in my head, but working out the finer details can be truly grueling, especially when I know later parts are going to be (hopefully!) so much fun and cooler to write.

November, unfortunately, is also lining up to be a month where it will be difficult to focus my energies in such a way. Mainly the distractions are work related, thus not easily put off.

Talking about work… my wife and I had the “if we won the lottery” discussion again today, that flight of fancy that I think every middle class couple goes through now and again. We talked about where we would live, how we would live, where our daughter would school, etc… all the usual things. Then I spoke about my desire to no longer work, invoking the spirit of Office Space by saying “I’d quit, do nothing”. She regarded me with that critical stare she sometimes takes.

“You say that now, when you’re going to work tonight,” she said. “But you’d get bored. What would you do?”

I so wanted to say straight off the bat: “I’d write.” But interestingly, that feels so… inconsequential. Like wanting to sit and write was not “real work”. I know some professional writers, and those that are true professionals, that treat writing as their career and are respected for it rather than the artistes, they work hard and put a lot of effort into it.

But if money was no object? Why wouldn’t I sit and do something I love, something I’ve only just rediscovered after a too long hiatus. If money was no object, I’d do it right now. But unfortunately money is an object, and the idea of going into writing as a profession without some form of other financial support scares the willies out of me. I am extremely impressed by the people I know who are self-employed and have turned something they love to do into their career. After all, who wouldn’t want to be paid for what they would do for free?