In his book, “Ignore Everybody,” he says this: “The creative person basically has two kinds of jobs: One is the sexy, creative kind. Second is the kind that pays the bills. Sometimes the task in hand covers both bases, but not often. This tense duality will always play center stage. It will never be transcended…As soon as you accept this, I mean really accept this, for some reason your career starts moving ahead faster. I don’t know why this happens.” – source: http://gapingvoid.com/ie/

I’ve been down to my last dollar, and I’ve had more money than I knew how to spend. Choosing to become a writer is, in some ways, choosing to embrace the flux of life, to accept that it can all vanish tomorrow. If you let it, yes, that could drive you mad.

But when you feel off-kilter and a little bit crazy, that’s a good time to find some writer friends, get out of your own head, and remember that the good times will come again. The suck is part of the writing. And being a writer, even on its suckiest day, is a wild ride many dream of taking but never do.

Take the ride. Embrace the suck. Whine, cry, throw a tantrum, whatever it takes to get it out of your system. When you’re finished, sit down and write. It’s what writers do.

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.

I really like that statement. It pretty much sums up the heart of every author–the need for money to sustain themselves (and perhaps a sense of glory in knowing you’ve made money for your work), but struggling with the knowledge that it’s not about money, it’s about the writing, and the writing can be heaven or hell or a little of both depending on the day. It’s frightening, I imagine, because if you’re depending on those words for your next check, so you can keep your house, so you don’t starve, ect, it’s like the whole world is ending (in a very real way) if those words refuse to come.

I heard once that every decent artist has to be at least a little mad, and maybe that’s why.

Very interesting thoughts!! I loved this, thinks for linking it to me.