I’ve spend the morning reaching out to old colleagues and clients to ask for testimonials about my work. It’s fun and I’ve already had one nibble about new work from a contact.
I’ve been westling with what kind of writing I should be spending my new-found free time pursuing. Part of me really wants to give creative writing a try, because that is so well regarded and I admire the talent of the storyteller so much. Part of me understands that I’m good at (and more practiced in) writing non-fiction.
I’ve been taking a course of teleclasses about business copywriting, which I has earned me some money in the past and which I’m leaning towards. But part of me is accusing myself of selling out, abandoning my creative writing dreams.
Then again, I also know that when I’m busy I’m happy, and when I’m happy I’m more productive in all aspects of my life. I know how much I enjoy learning about business, and talking to business people who are good at what they do. I find it fascinating and energizing (if that’s a word). And I enjoy crafting the words that help someone understand a thing, a concept, a product, a service.
And where am I going to find characters and scenarios and realistic voices if not out in the real world? That can only help my creative writing more than sitting alone in my room, surely?
So I’ve decided to both have my cake and eat it. Pursue business writing and keep plugging away at my stories for my own amusement* on the side.
*Because I’ve also noticed that when I write to amuse myself, all of my writing gets better.
I finally decided to poke some more at the story I hope to turn into a novel. I wrote two whole pages yesterday. Which is good, considering it took me two months to tap out 7 pages, then I took about a year off from it. I’m hoping to get a little more done on it and see where I’m at by Christmas. My head is so full of public relations writing right now that I need to cleanse my brain a bit with fun writing.
But I say by all means, live in both writing worlds!
Good for you. Sometimes a story needs a while to simmer. Maybe now you need to sign up for NaNoWriMo to get it all out of your brain and onto your page. [Because I’m sure you have plenty of time to write…;)]
Interesting to hear you say you need to ‘cleanse your brain with fun writing’. I guess that part of my fear is that if I write for a living I won’t want to write for fun. But you’re reassuring me.