I was downstairs in the computer room paying some bills online this weekend and when I came back to the living room, my two-year-old said, "Daddy, are you writing a story?"
I chuckled a little and told him that I wasn't writing right then, so he responded with the cutest "Can you play with me?" that he could conjure up.
While it's pretty cool that he already understands sometimes Daddy has to lock himself in the computer room and write, it's also a harsh reminder that writers do have to make some sacrifices if they want to taste a little bit of success early on.
Becoming a writer isn't one of those thing you can just give up everything and go do. It's something you have to do in your spare time because when you're just getting started, you will make literally no money writing. And I'm talking $0.00 US dollars. You can't quit your day job to write, so you have to give up other stuff to make the time.
I would first suggest giving up TV, but even those of us who barely watch anything still have limited free-time. I try to minimize the amount of family time I have to give up to write, so most of my writing gets done after hours. At times it really sucks falling behind on quality sleep, but you just have to keep that end goal in sight.
Also, it helps to look at it this way: Stay up late and write, or write after work and never see the kids.
Like I said, it's great that my two-year-old knows that sometimes I need to retreat to the computer room and write, but it's also great that most of the time when he says "Can you play with me?" I can say, "Of course I can."
No comments:
Post a Comment