“When none appeared, he finally admitted that he hadn’t written anything in months. “But I’m thinking about it,” he said. Consider that comment in another context. “You said you were training for the Olympics—how’s that going?” “I’m working on the training.” “But are you actually training?” “No, I haven’t trained in months, but I’m thinking about it.” An athlete doesn’t just train the night before the big game. S/he does the work every day, making it a habit as regular as breathing. You get it done, period. This means actually writing, not sitting at a coffee shop with your laptop open to the same page you’ve been staring at for the last month, waiting for someone to see what’s on the screen and say, “So, are you a writer?” (You know who you are.”
– J. Michael Straczynski, Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer
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“Inevitably, the conversation turns to how far ahead I work. When they learn about the six-week daily-strip deadline and the 12-week Sunday-page deadline, a visitor almost never fails to remark: “Gee, you could work real hard, couldn’t you, and get several months ahead and then take the time off?” Being, as I said, a slow learner, it took me until last year to realize what an odd statement that really is. You don’t work all of your life to do something so you don’t have to do it.”
– Charles M. Schulz, My Life With Charlie Brown
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Why write? Because it’s better than talking about it.
What other activity do you have where rank amateurs starting from zero, have hopes and expectations of one day becoming a paid professional?
Because it is so deceptively simple to pick up pen and peck on keyboard it seems as if anyone can do it. And we can.
But there are rewards far beyond the rewards from others.
As an introvert, I am happier communicating from behind barriers. Lengthy phone calls are not a strong point. I’m liable to share little of what’s on my mind.
But amongst friends like Charles and J. Michael, I happily converse.
How lovely it is not to batch cook my writing. It’s a thread of seemingly infinite length that I unravel day by day. I don’t want to get to the end of it. Then what?
But unravelling is work. No one pays me. No meetings are held. I let down only myself by not turning up to the job.
I aim to be the best boss in the world. This company of one, I never want to leave.
What compensation is greater than doing what you love?
Conversations With Quotations 