At about 6 minutes in, there is a thread that addresses the idea that there is no one (or “right”) way to self-identify as a writer. Or put in other words, you don’t have to be driven to write every day, or write a certain number of words each day, or whatever the “tweets of the moment” may dictate, to call yourself a writer.
I think this concept is sooooo important. A year or so ago I heard a famous critically and financially successful writer basically dismiss the notion that writing can be incredibly hard (the old bleeding at the keyboard thing)—that if you didn’t LOVE writing—every moment of it—you shouldn’t be a writer.
For a day or two, that sort of brought me to my knees because for me, writing is hard. The same way that running ½ marathons was hard. I didn’t love every minute of it, but I loved the end result.
And it’s good to be reminded that one person’s perspective (no matter how “famous” they may be) is just that. We are all different, there is no one-size-fits-all and we get to choose not only how we approach the work, but what labels we do (writer) or don’t, assign ourselves.
Thanks for introducing me to Kate—oh, and also, I loved this idea of weaving in old ideas or characters into your work. In a new book I’m working on, my main character owns an “elevated” travel wear company based on an idea that came to me years ago that I never had the passion to launch--the concept was “From the Mountain to MOMA.” By having my protagonist own that company, it’s as if it were actually a living thing!
At about 6 minutes in, there is a thread that addresses the idea that there is no one (or “right”) way to self-identify as a writer. Or put in other words, you don’t have to be driven to write every day, or write a certain number of words each day, or whatever the “tweets of the moment” may dictate, to call yourself a writer.
I think this concept is sooooo important. A year or so ago I heard a famous critically and financially successful writer basically dismiss the notion that writing can be incredibly hard (the old bleeding at the keyboard thing)—that if you didn’t LOVE writing—every moment of it—you shouldn’t be a writer.
For a day or two, that sort of brought me to my knees because for me, writing is hard. The same way that running ½ marathons was hard. I didn’t love every minute of it, but I loved the end result.
And it’s good to be reminded that one person’s perspective (no matter how “famous” they may be) is just that. We are all different, there is no one-size-fits-all and we get to choose not only how we approach the work, but what labels we do (writer) or don’t, assign ourselves.
Thanks for introducing me to Kate—oh, and also, I loved this idea of weaving in old ideas or characters into your work. In a new book I’m working on, my main character owns an “elevated” travel wear company based on an idea that came to me years ago that I never had the passion to launch--the concept was “From the Mountain to MOMA.” By having my protagonist own that company, it’s as if it were actually a living thing!