I often troll about looking for the tales of those who have long ventured off into the wilderness of a full-time, or even part-time writing career. These are brave souls in whose footsteps I someday hope to follow. So I seek out their diaries, journals, blogs, drunken spoutings, etc. in the hopes to glean maps and trailmarkers to better prepare myself for what lies ahead in this writing adventure.
http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2007/01/the_writers_lifestyle.html is the latest rundown I’ve dug up, and it gives a nicely cauterized view of the day-to-day responsibilities inherent to the writing lifestyle. Charlie Stross has sold a gazillion (count them..one gazillion) short stories, has a very confusing lineup of fourteen novels sold to various U.S. and U.K. publishers, and has a novel online under the Creative Commons license (yay, another free book!). His life very much runs on the daily application of his Bum-in-chair principle (BIC) and the unvarnished knowledge that writing is hard work and not glorified telecommuting.
Aside from noting that a typical first novel in speculative fiction nets an average advance of $5,000, Charlie reveals the core of the writing routine:
“In general novelists are solitary creatures. You work in a service industry where output is proportional to hours spent working per person, and where it is very difficult to subcontract work out to hirelings unless you are rich, famous, and have had thirty years of seniority in which to build up a loyal customer base. So you eat or starve on the basis of your ability to put your bum in a chair and write. BIC or die, that’s the first rule. Lifestyle issues come a distant second…Your lifestyle consists of this: sooner or later (usually later) you wake up, do your usual morning pre-work routine, then commute three metres to your office, wherein you sit for several hours, on your own, hoping the phone won’t ring because it will break your concentration for a quarter of an hour afterwards, if you’re lucky. Somewhere in those several hours you will hopefully write something.”
Check out the link and read further to see his additional writing tasks that will consume your time. It may have a few items you don’t expect, or aren’t even sure what they involve. If you see anything that confuses you, ask me. Not because I necessarily know, but because I want to research unknown and confusing things so they become known and clear to myself as well. We can help each other out here.
I see that smile.
Honestly, his article scared the crap outta me. I knew, logically, that tons of writing must be involved and such, but when he set out, very clearly, all the troubles of the life, I feel daunted and intimidated. I can only hope that it isn't as depressing as he makes it seem like, even with all that work and more involved.
Recognize a couple things, C.. One is that the article groups all of the potential troubles and tasks into a clump. Writers aren't necessarily going to experience all of those things at once, or have to toil through every single issue all the time. They are things you might hit along the way, but alongside them are the times of inspiration, joy in your work and the progress you make. It can be intimidating, yes. But if you stand back and say, “Despite the possibility of experiencing these things at one time or another, I still am determined to write because it's my love and passion” then that's a much firmer approach than the rose-colored perspective numerous writers start out with, only to get disillusioned and quit when they hit some of the hard spots.
No worries C. I'm not a famous writer, (but I'm aiming for it,) but I think writing wont be too bad. Of course there is work, but who says its depressing? personally I hate people who make life sound depressing or make writing sound depressing, (or I'm starting to.)