On Writing and Happiness
Hope all you moms had a fabulous Mother's Day yesterday, and that everybody reading this got to celebrate the holiday in the company of a mom they love. We had a little party at my house -- before people arrived, I did a little swing through the internets, and found this gem of a blog written by my writing buddy Charlene Teglia. You have to read the whole thing but here's a snip:
The longer I write, the longer I watch my husband's creative work (he develops web applications), the more I see that to be productive you have to pay attention to what makes you happy.
You don't hear about this from writer's organizations. You hear about how this or that contract term is evil and must be abolished, you hear about how you have to have an agent or you have to do book tours or you have to go to conventions and pass out your bookmarks. You don't hear about something without which none of the rest matters.
Oh, I needed to read this. It is so easy, so tempting, to get lost in the grim realities of the publishing business. You could spend every spare moment of your day reading about market trends, sales figures, the successes and failures of other writers, and helpful, cogent writing advice. And none of it is writing. Not one iota of it will bring you closer to your writing dreams.
And "happiness" to me doesn't mean Hallmark card, satisfied customer at a restaurant, just bought the perfect blouse happy...all of these are great, but they aren't the mindbending bliss Charlene talks about.
Happiness is getting up at 4:30 every morning to write a story that haunts you. Happiness is re-writing that story four or five times to get it as right as you can -- even as you know you can never recapture the dreamy, fleeting image that sparked the story in the first place. And happiness is selling that story to a place you respect, so those characters can find their audience.
If you love something like that, if it makes you happy despite the fact that pursuing that happiness looks a little crazy to the normal, everyday world, you've found your bliss. Follow it! And your life will become a rare, marvelous adventure, guaranteed. But don't let the dream-smothering illusions of the world steal your bliss away...